


Mildred in the Middle

by tfw_cas



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angry Kissing, Bickering, Canon Elements, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Time, Enemies to Lovers, Epistolary, Gabriel (Supernatural) is a Little Shit, Loneliness, M/M, Misunderstandings, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 16:50:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19816441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tfw_cas/pseuds/tfw_cas
Summary: Dean Winchester is mostly happy with his life. A job he loves, Jack - his cat, Mildred - the elderly lady he visits everyday through the befriending program for whom to cook and keep company, and... well, maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend would be nice too. If it wasn’t for Mildred’s irritating neighbour trying to tell Dean that everything he’s doing is wrong, things would be even better.Castiel Novak has a job he enjoys, Meg - his cat who won’t stay put, an irritating brother, and a lovely elderly neighbour - Mildred - for whom he would like to help care for. If only her befriender Dean wasn’t so stubborn, and would let him be involved instead of disagreeing with all of his suggestions, his life would be easier and happier.Following an increasingly petty series of letters, Dean and Castiel finally meet, and sparks fly. Now, they just have to work out how to stop arguing and work together.





	1. Tuesday

**Author's Note:**

> All my thanks and admiration to [dmsilvisart](https://dmsilvisart.tumblr.com)  
> , for the stunning art you made for this fic. I am truly delighted with it, and I have loved working with you once again. Here's the link for the [art masterpost](https://dmsilvisart.tumblr.com/post/186306255078/art-masterpost-mildred-in-the-middle). 
> 
> As ever, huge thanks to the always wonderful, encouraging, and supportive, [Emblue_Sparks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emblue_Sparks). For being such a great beta, for the suggestions, and for yet again weeding out my Britishisms. But most of all, thank you for being such a lovely friend. 💜
> 
> Thanks also, to the mods of the [deancasminibang](https://deancasminibang.tumblr.com), for running such a fun challenge; I have really enjoyed being a part of it.

“Hey Mildred, how’s my favourite girl today?” Dean called out as he walked into the apartment. 

“Dean! All the better for seeing you.” Mildred beamed at the young man from where she sat in her motorised scooter. “What have you brought me today?”

“Stew and mashed potatoes.” Dean went into the kitchen and put the stew on the stove and the potatoes in the microwave. While it was heating, he put away the shopping he had brought, and got a plate and cutlery ready on a tray. When he was satisfied the food was the right temperature he placed it onto the plate and brought it through.

“You spoil me you know,” Mildred said, as she manoeuvered herself over to the table where Dean had placed the tray. 

“Nah,” Dean blushed at the compliment. “It’s nothing, really.”

“You are a very stubborn man, Dean Winchester. And you’re wrong, it’s not nothing. I don’t see a whole load of other people beating down my door to come sit with me, and cook for me.”

“Yeah…” Dean thought for a moment. “But if they did, you’d miss me.”

“You bet I would.” Mildred winked mischievously.

When Mildred had finished eating, Dean washed the dishes before reading with her for an hour or so, then said his goodbyes and made his way home. He had signed up to the befriending program a little over a year ago, and had been paired up with Mildred. They had hit it off immediately, and despite her failing health and increasing fragility - Dean noticed she was increasingly favouring the scooter over her walking cane - she was feisty and great company. She would tell him tales of her life on the road with a Patsy Cline tribute band, her conquests, and the trail of broken hearts she had left behind. 

They both gained something from these daily visits; Mildred got to spend a few hours a day with another human being, and Dean felt like he was doing something to help. It gave him a sense of well-being, plus he had grown extremely fond of Mildred - so much so that he had come to think of her as family.

Dean’s love life - or lack of one - was of great interest to Mildred, for some reason, but he usually managed to distract her from that topic with stories of his brother Sam, and his budding relationship with a woman called Eileen. Other times, Mildred would sit enraptured as Dean told her about his and Sam’s childhood, which Dean often embellished by adding monsters or ghosts into the story. He was a little worried that she was now convinced that the Winchesters were some kind of monster hunters, travelling the land to save ordinary people from things that went bump in the night.

The truth was that Dean had never so much as fired a gun, and the last time he had been in a fight was when he was at school. After his mom had died when he was only four, and Sam still a baby, the two boys and their father had spent an unusual amount of time travelling, but they had never encountered any monsters. Not that Dean could remember, anyway. Still, Mildred enjoyed his stories, and it wasn’t hurting anyone, so he carried on feeding her his own blend of fact and fiction.

Dean let himself into his apartment, and slipped off his shoes. His cat Jack ran to meet him, and he fed the insistent furball before preparing a loaf of bread for baking, and finally heating some dinner for himself. Once he had eaten, baked his bread, and tidied up, he sat in front of the TV watching Dr. Sexy M.D., and stroking Jack under the chin. He was content… well, mostly anyway. He had his job as a veterinary nurse, his daily visits to Mildred, his devoted cat, his family, but someone to love would be nice too. That would be awesome.

+++

Castiel arrived back at his apartment building tired and weary. He loved his job as a guide at the Natural History Museum, but having a school party asking incessant questions all afternoon sure was exhausting. Not that he would complain - god no - at least they were interested in the subject. 

As he was about to put the key in the lock, Castiel heard a noise. It sounded like a cry of pain, then a voice calling ‘help’. He put the key back in his pocket and followed the voice, hoping that he wouldn’t find anything gruesome. When he reached the next door along he could hear it more clearly, so he tried the door, which thankfully wasn’t locked, and discovered an elderly woman lying on the floor, with her walking cane next to her.

Castiel rushed over to the woman, not sure whether he should try lifting her, or call an ambulance. “Ma’am, where are you hurt? Should I call an ambulance?”

“Oh thank goodness, I wasn’t sure if anyone would hear me.” The woman smiled up at Castiel, sweetly. “If you could just help me up, and sit me back in the chair, that would be wonderful.”

“Sure.” Castiel reached down and gently helped manoeuvre the woman into a comfy looking armchair. It took a few minutes to get her comfortable, and he could see how grateful she was for his help. “Do you need anything else ma’am? Are you certain you aren’t hurt?”

“I’ll be fine now, thank you. But please, call me Mildred - ma’am’s so formal. And you are?”

“Oh right. I’m Castiel - I live next door.”

“Ah, the new neighbor. I am very pleased to meet you. You’re an angel.”

Castiel wasn’t used to such praise, and he could feel himself blushing. “I only did what anyone would do.”

“Sadly, that’s not true. I wish it were, but not everyone would help a stranger like that.” Mildred thought for a moment, then added “I will have to tell Dean about you rushing to my rescue.”

“And Dean is?” 

“My knight in shining armour… my protector… my hero.” Mildred’s eyes lit up as she spoke so fondly of this Dean.

“Your… boyfriend?”

Mildred laughed delightedly at this. “Oh, wait til I tell him that one. No… I wish. If I were forty years younger, maybe. He’s from the befriender program, comes to visit every day with food, shopping, and the pleasure of his company.”

“Ah… that’s great.” Castiel had heard of the program, and thought it was a wonderful idea.

“It’s a shame he doesn’t live closer. I think I should call him… tell him what happened, and not to worry.”

“No need to bother him,” Castiel said, after making a decision. “I will go next door and grab my dinner, then come back and sit with you if you would like.”

“You really are an angel, aren’t you?” Mildred beamed gratefully at Castiel. “But I don’t want to disrupt your evening.”

“It’s fine, I had no plans. I was just going to watch Dr. Sexy with Meg.”

“Meg? Your wife? Girlfriend?”

Castiel laughed. “Cat. I could bring her with me if that’s okay.”

“Dean has a cat. I haven’t met him though. I would love to meet Meg… yes. And you could show me this Dr. Sexy. Dean watches it too.”

“Okay, give me half an hour.”

Castiel went back to his apartment, fed Meg while heating his leftovers, then ate as quickly as he could without burning his mouth. As he ate, he found himself wondering about this Dean. Surely no-one could be that perfect… do all this for Mildred without expecting something in return. Castiel hated that he was so cynical, but sadly he had met too many opportunists in his life. He was sure that Dean was fine though - Mildred certainly thought so.

When he got back to Mildred’s apartment, with Meg under one arm and a bag of potato chips under the other, Castiel became aware of just how lonely she was; her face lit up with excitement the moment he walked through the door. He had a feeling that him spending the evening with this delightful woman might well become a regular thing.


	2. Wednesday

“Hey Mildred, how-” Dean stopped in his tracks at the sight of the cat in front of him. She was beautiful - black all over, with sleek, shiny fur. He leaned down to pet her, and when she didn’t resist he picked her up and went through to Mildred.

“Who’s this gorgeous girl then?” Dean asked.

“Dean! This is Meg. She belongs to my new neighbor, Castiel. She came to see me while he’s at work.”

“You finally met your neighbor, huh?” It saddened Dean to think that so many people didn’t bother to get to know those around them.

“He’s an angel,” Mildred said with a dreamy look on her face.

“Oh, is he? Should I be jealous? Am I gonna have to fight him for your hand?”

Mildred giggled. “It’s been a long time since I had two handsome men fighting over me. Too long…” 

“No, I don’t believe that. You’re a goddess, a vision of loveliness.” Dean knew he was flirting, but that was something he had always been good at.

“Oh stop it!” Mildred fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly, and they both laughed.

“So, how did you come to meet your neighbor… what was his name?” Dean asked once they had stopped laughing.

Mildred suddenly looked a little embarrassed. “I had a little fall. I called out for help, and Castiel came to my rescue.”

“You had a fall? Why didn’t you call me? Are you hurt?” Dean could feel himself panicking at the thought of Mildred falling and being all alone. Maybe he should move in here, or she could come to his place. Or at the very least, she could get one of those personal alarms; that would make him sleep easier, anyway.

“I’m fine, Dean. I was going to call you, but Castiel took care of me. He said not to worry you.” 

Oh, he did, did he? Dean was suddenly pissed. Who did this guy think he was telling Mildred not to bother him? Taking care of her was _his_ job… well, technically not his actual job, but still…

“I wouldn’t have minded, you know. If anything like that happens again, you call. Okay?”

“Yes, I will… now, what did you bring me to eat?” 

Dean put a forced smile on his face, and pulled a container out of his bag. “Chicken soup, and some of my homemade bread.” 

“Awww, you’re so good to me,” Mildred said, obviously not noticing how put out Dean was.

Once Dean had put the soup on the stove to heat, he leaned on the counter and placed his head in his hands. This… Castiel guy - was he really that kind and caring, or was he after something? Dean didn’t like to be suspicious, but when someone he hadn’t met was all of a sudden Mildred’s guardian angel, he couldn’t help but worry. 

As he did every other day, Dean gave Mildred her food - and he also fed Meg while he was about it - then read to Mildred for a while. He cleaned up and was getting ready to leave, when Mildred stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“I almost forgot; I watched that show you love so much - Dr. Sexy. Castiel showed it to me.”

_Oh, hell no_. “You… oh, right.” Dean fought hard to not let Mildred see how hurt he was. He had been telling Mildred to watch it since they met, and now one visit from Castiel and suddenly she’s a fan?

“You were right. I should have watched it a long time ago.” 

Dean couldn’t be mad when Mildred looked at him with such fondness. He kissed the top of her head and headed for the door. “I’m always right,” he chuckled, “and you be careful, you hear? If you need anything… ANYTHING, you call me. Okay?”

“Yes, and thank you Dean.”

“See you tomorrow.” Dean went out of the door trying not to be too mad at this unexpected turn of events.

Of course Dean didn’t want Mildred to be lonely when he wasn’t there, but he could feel jealousy bubbling up inside him. NO! He was not going to do this; this Cas… something... was a good guy, wasn’t he? Dean would give him the benefit of the doubt, unless he showed that he could not be trusted.

Realising that he had been just sitting in his car for at least ten minutes, Dean shook his head at himself and the ridiculous thoughts he was indulging in, pressed play on the tape recorder - Led Zeppelin, nice - and pulled out of his parking space. Just around the corner, he had to stop at the traffic lights, and while he waited for the lights to change back to green, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and hummed along to the music.

Staring aimlessly out of the windscreen, Dean found himself making eye contact with a man in a car waiting to come in the opposite direction. They weren’t close enough for him to get a real good look, but he could see enough to get the impression of a very attractive guy with dark, untamed hair. The lights changed, and as Dean’s car passed the other man’s - frankly hideous vehicle - Dean shot him a wink. He was pretty sure he got a surprised smile in return, from the fleeting glimpse he got of the guy’s face before they were out of each other’s sight. _Sweet_.

+++

Castiel was all in a fluster by the time he reached home. He’d had two school parties to show around the museum today, which was always exhausting, and he was ashamed to admit that he could practically feel sleep trying to pull him under while he was driving home. But then a beautiful classic car caught his eye just around the corner from his apartment building, and then the extremely handsome man driving it had gone and winked at him!

He put the key in the lock slightly dazed, certain that he had a dopey smile on his face from that unexpected, but not at all unwelcome interaction. _Goodness, how could one tiny gesture cause such happiness_?

Castiel opened the front door, but Meg was nowhere to be seen. Usually, she would be rubbing up against him, purring frantically, looking for affection and food. _Maybe Mildred might have seen her_? he wondered, as he closed his door again, and went along to his neighbour’s apartment.

It took a few moments for Mildred to answer the door, and when she did, she greeted Castiel with a huge smile.

“Castiel, how lovely. Would you like to come in?” She was on a motorised scooter, and she put it in reverse so that he had enough room to squeeze past.

“I… yes, okay.” Castiel really just wanted to find his cat and collapse onto his sofa, but Mildred looked so happy to see him. How could he refuse?

“Meg has been keeping me company, haven’t you gorgeous?” Mildred made a cooing sound and pointed at the animal in question, who was sitting bold as brass on Mildred’s beautiful leather chair.

“Meg!” Castiel was horrified at the cheek of his cat, and moved to pick her up. “I am so sorry. How did she get in here?”

“I saw her outside, so I asked if she would like to come in,” Mildred answered cheerily. “And you can leave her be, unless… you need to take her home.” From the look on Mildred’s face, this was an unhappy thought.

“No, not really. Although I do need to feed her.”

“There’s no need, dear. Dean fed her while he was here.”

_Oh, did he_? Castiel wasn’t a particularly territorial person, but knowing this man he had never met had fed his cat just rubbed him up the wrong way. The buzz he had been feeling from that wink disappeared instantly.

Mildred obviously noticed this change in mood, and the smile slipped from her face. “Oh my goodness, he shouldn’t have done that, should he? Please forgive me.”

Castiel couldn’t help softening at Mildred’s contrite expression and apology. “Of course I forgive you. But it was not you who fed her, was it?”

“No, but-”

“Then you have nothing to apologise for. But I would appreciate _Dean_ not feeding my cat in the future. I don’t like not knowing what she is eating.”

“But Castiel, Dean meant no harm,” Mildred pleaded.

“I am certain he didn’t,” Castiel replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. “Now, I really should go home and eat; all this talk of food is making me hungry. But I could come back later, if you would like.”

“That would be lovely. See you later,” Mildred called after him as he went back to his place, while Meg stayed behind. 

As Castiel prepared his dinner he became increasingly agitated at the thought of this… Dean… feeding Meg. _What a liberty_. He would have to be more vigilant with her.

By the time he had eaten, Castiel was a lot calmer; maybe it was the tiredness and hunger that had made him cranky. Memories of that man winking at him brought a smile back to his face as he went to visit Mildred. When she answered the door, she noticed his happy demeanour, and smiled back.

“You look pleased,” she observed. “What has happened to make you so happy?”

Castiel wasn't sure how Mildred would react to him telling her that it was another man that he was smiling about, but he decided to test the waters nonetheless. He picked up Meg, sat in the chair and placed her on his lap, and divulged, “I was just recalling that on my way home a very attractive man winked at me.” He watched carefully for Mildred's reaction. 

“Oh, how delightful,” she responded, with glee. “Tell me more.”

“Well… there isn't much more to tell,” Castiel confessed. “We were both in our cars, he winked at me as we passed each other, and I am sad to say, that was it.”

Mildred looked momentarily saddened by this, but this did not last long. “Well, hopefully you will see him again, and there will be more than just winking,” she said hopefully.

“I think I would like that,” Castiel replied wistfully, before changing the subject. “Are you hungry? Have you had dinner?”

“Oh yes, Dean made me some soup, and-”

“Soup?” Castiel interrupted, more harshly than he intended. “I was under the impression that Dean was supposed to provide you with a nutritious meal every day.”

“Oh yes, he does. Yest-”

Castiel cut her off again. “Mildred, I can tell you're fond of Dean, but I am concerned that he isn't giving you the right kinds of food. Forgive me if I am being pushy, but it is essential that you eat a good, balanced diet.”

“I think I do,” Mildred replied, not entirely convincingly. 

“No, that will not do.” Castiel shook his head. “If you do not object, I will write a note to Dean about my concerns, and perhaps you would allow me to cook for you on the days I don't work?” _At least this way I can be sure Mildred is eating properly_.

“You are so kind. How lucky to have two lovely men looking after me so well.”

Castiel knew instinctively that Mildred would be a lot better off without Dean’s brand of ‘help’, but he couldn’t exactly stop him from visiting her now, could he? He could only hope that she would realise on her own how much better off she would be without the other man in her life.

They put on an episode of Dr. Sexy, and as she watched, Castiel wrote a note to Dean, on a sheet of paper Mildred happily supplied.

  


**_To Dean_ **

**_I understand from Mildred that you fed my cat Meg this evening. I appreciate that you were trying to ‘help’, but I do not expect you to understand how important a cat’s diet is. I am very particular about what I feed her, and would be grateful if you would refrain from feeding her in the future._ **

**_Also, on the subject of food, Mildred told me that all she had for dinner today was soup. While she is extremely grateful for all you do for her, I feel that soup is hardly a substantial meal. I know that your time with Mildred is limited, so of course you cannot always provide her with a well-balanced, nutritious diet. I therefore propose that on my days off I cook for her, and this will give you more free time. Let me know if this is agreeable to you._ **

**_Sincerely, Castiel_ **

  


He sealed the note in an envelope, and asked Mildred to make sure to hand it to Dean tomorrow, before saying goodnight to her and going back to his own home. Meg had protested loudly about him taking her away, but he was not about to let his cat start dictating to him.


	3. Thursday

Today was one of Dean's days off, and as he always did, he went shopping early in the morning, cooked a variety of meals for himself and Mildred, then drove over to see his favourite girl at the usual time. 

“Hey Mildred,” he called out as he went inside the apartment. “And Meg.”

The cat was curled up on the chair, looking for all the world like she lived there.

“Dean, hello,” Mildred greeted him warmly. “How are you today?”

“All the better for seeing you.”

Mildred giggled, and said to Meg “we're such lucky girls, aren't we?”

“Is she a permanent fixture now?” Dean gestured towards the cat.

“No, but Castiel isn't too pleased with her. She didn't want to go home last night.”

“Bad girl.” Dean chuckled and petted Meg’s head. 

“Oh, that reminds me. He wrote you a note.” Mildred picked up an envelope from her table and handed it to Dean.

“Oh?” Dean took it from her, full of curiosity about what it might contain. “I’ll give it a read while I’m getting your food ready.” 

Dean put the chicken and rice dish he had made into the microwave, then opened the letter and read.

_What. The. Actual. Fuck_?

Dean gripped the kitchen worktop until his knuckles turned white. He was so mad he thought he might be about to burst something. How fucking dare this… Johnny come lately tell _him_ that he wasn’t taking proper care of Mildred, and try to push him out? 

The microwave pinged, making Dean jump. He took the food out, stirred it and put it back in for a little while longer. He knew what he had to do; he was going to write Castiel a note telling him exactly what he thought of his idea.

When the food was ready Dean brought it through to Mildred.

“Dean, are you unwell? You don’t look right, dear,” Mildred asked, looking at him with concern.

“Yeah. Just a headache.” Dean placed the tray in front of Mildred, and she began to eat. “Er… do you have a piece of paper? I wanna write a note back to Castiel.”

“Yes, Of course. There is some in the dresser drawer.”

Dean opened the drawer, took out a sheet of paper and thought for a moment about what he was going to write. If he wrote what he was actually thinking, it would probably end up being a whole load of swear words, and little else. It took three tries before Dean managed to calm down enough to write a note he was satisfied with.

  


**_To Castiel_ **

**_First, I ‘appreciate’ your concern about what your cat eats, and don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of feeding her again if it’s going to upset you that much. I won’t even pet her, just in case you get the wrong idea. For your information though, FYI… as I’ve been a veterinary nurse for over ten years I do actually know something about caring for animals. Maybe if you don’t want other people feeding her, you should try keeping her indoors._ **

**_Second, I am not going to let you push me out. I care about Mildred, and enjoy spending time with her, and you can’t just come along and get rid of me. I don’t know what your agenda is, but it better not be anything that is going to hurt her, or I swear to god you will regret it. And for your information, chicken soup is just one of the many different dishes I cook for Mildred. Why don’t you try asking her what else she’s had to eat this week?_ **

**_Dean_ **

  


Dean knew that he was being childish, writing that he wouldn’t so much as pet the cat again, and he also knew that Castiel had little chance of stopping her from spending all day every day at Mildred’s; cats were totally unconcerned about respecting boundaries. But Dean was pissed, so he didn’t give a shit, quite frankly, plus he believed that as the note contained no swear words at all he was entitled to one.

He washed the dishes and tidied up, then stuck the note in an envelope, and asked Mildred to give it to Castiel next time she saw him. 

“Why don’t you stay a while longer and give it to him yourself?” Mildred suggested. She obviously didn’t have a clue as to the content of these notes, or she would know what an extraordinarily bad idea that was.

“Oh, er… no. I can’t. I have something…” Dean trailed off, unable to think of a decent excuse, and hoping that Mildred would let the matter drop. No such luck.

“He’s very attractive - just your type.”

How on earth Mildred could know what Dean’s type was, was a mystery to him.

“And I’m pretty sure he likes men too.”

Dean was absolutely certain that Castiel was not his type at all. He was a condescending asshole, who had jumped to conclusions about Dean based on… who knows what. No, Dean had no desire to meet Castiel, not now or anytime in the future.

“Thanks Mildred. But I actually have a date,” Dean lied. “In fact, I should probably get going, or I won’t be ready in time.”

“Well, that’s a shame. But you have a date? Why didn’t you say?” Mildred was all excitement at hearing this news.

“Because I wanted to spend time with you first, without you trying to shove me out the door early,” Dean improvised, smoothly.

“You’re too good to me.” Mildred smiled, all thoughts of Dean meeting Castiel hopefully forgotten.

“No, I’m not,” Dean protested. He made a pretence of checking the time on his watch, then added “I should probably go now, or I’ll be late.”

“Okay, goodbye Dean. Have fun on your date,” Mildred called after him, as he rushed out of the apartment, deliberately avoiding any interaction with the cat, and determined to avoid any chance of bumping into her neighbor. Mildred would be mortified if she knew how much animosity was brewing between the two men.

Dean hadn’t been able to park as close to the building as he usually did, so he walked around the corner to his car, reflecting on what a shitty evening this had turned out to be. Castiel’s note - which he had every intention of destroying at the first opportunity - had upset him more than he could say. The thought that Castiel might start spending so much time with Mildred that Dean’s help was no longer necessary filled him with dread. He didn’t want to think too hard on it, but the reality was that Dean needed Mildred just as much as she needed him.

_Shit_. How fucking tragic was that?

Dean pulled the car keys from his pocket, but he was so distracted that they slipped from his grasp, onto the ground. Reaching down to pick them up, he didn’t notice the figure that was walking towards him, carrying a box large enough to obscure his view. 

Before either of them had become aware of each other’s presence they had collided, and the other guy had dropped his box on Dean’s foot, who was cursing up a storm.

“Ow, motherfuck-” What the hell was in that box? It weighed a ton.

“I am so sorry.” The man picked up his box, red faced, and… sonovabitch, it was the guy from yesterday. The one Dean had winked at.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dean said. “No damage done.” He wasn’t entirely sure that was true - his foot hurt more than he was letting on - but the guy was cute. Close up, Dean observed that as well as the wild untamed hair, the man had exceptionally attractive lips, and the most stunning blue eyes he had ever seen. Dean decided to go easy on him.

“Are you sure?”

Holy crap, that was a ridiculously deep voice. The kind of voice that might start featuring heavily in Dean’s fantasies. 

“Yes… yeah. I’m fine.” Dean gave him one of his best smiles, before opening the car door and climbing in. Despite this being a very welcome distraction from the irritation he had felt all evening because of Castiel and his note, Dean thought he wasn’t quite in the right frame of mind for any further interaction today with the hottie in front of him. He hoped, however, that they would bump into each other again, real soon.

As Dean pulled away and headed home, he felt much happier than he had when he left Mildred’s place, despite the throbbing foot. Maybe things might just be looking up.

+++

On his way home from work, Castiel had stopped off at the pet store and bought a cat activity centre. Hopefully this would stop Meg from wandering so much - he was a little embarrassed at how much of a fuss she had made when he had taken her away from Mildred’s apartment.

The box was huge and heavy, and Castiel couldn’t find a parking spot outside the apartment building, so he parked as close as possible, then hauled the box out of his car, hoping he could get it home without having to stop.

He couldn’t see properly in front of him, so it really wasn’t his fault when he banged into someone on the ground and dropped the box on their foot. Apologising profusely, Castiel was astonished to discover that it was the same man who had winked at him yesterday. 

_Dear lord, he’s breathtakingly handsome_ , Castiel thought, feeling his face heat up in shame. The most kissable rosebud lips, a smattering of freckles, and the greenest eyes Castiel had ever seen, and when he smiled… words were inadequate to describe it.

The man drove off after insisting he was fine, leaving Castiel standing on the sidewalk staring after him like a lovestruck teenager. It took him a few moments to gather himself together, then he lugged the box the rest of the way home and spent the next hour or so assembling Meg’s new toy. She was going to love it, he was certain.

There had been no sign of Meg when Castiel arrived home, but this was no surprise; she had become all too fond of Mildred’s company, plus she got fed there too. Hopefully Dean had read his note, and wouldn’t feed her again.

When he was finished, Castiel quickly made himself some dinner, then went next door to see Mildred. 

“Come in,” Mildred called when Castiel knocked on the door. He should have a word with her about leaving it unlocked.

He went inside and as expected, Meg was sitting on the chair, ignoring him. “Hello Mildred, how are you today?” He asked his neighbor, who was clearly pleased to see him.

“Hello Castiel, I’m fine. You just missed Dean, did you see him? I tried to get him to wait, so that the two of you could meet, but he had to rush off. He has a date, you see.”

Castiel hadn’t seen anyone outside, and he had absolutely no interest in meeting Dean, or discussing the details of his love life. But he was less than impressed that he would rush away because of a date. “No, but never mind. I came to see you, after all. And this naughty little girl.” He picked Meg up, who purred happily for five seconds before wriggling away from him. 

“Dean left you a note,” Mildred said. “I feel like I’m at school, passing love notes between you in class. Is it a love note?” she asked.

Castiel opened the envelope, pulled out the piece of paper, and read. How he managed to keep his expression neutral, he had no idea, but inside his blood was boiling. How dare Dean accuse him of having an agenda? Granted, it appeared he was mistaken in assuming that Dean wasn’t feeding Mildred adequately, or that he didn’t know anything about cat nutrition. But still… he had no right to suggest that Castiel’s intentions were dishonourable.

Mildred was still staring at him expectantly, waiting for an answer to her question.

“Well, no… not exactly. Dean wanted to discuss your meals with me,” Castiel lied. “I should write a reply.”

“I suppose you want to use my paper? I will have to get more at this rate.” Mildred gestured towards the dresser, and Castiel took out a sheet of paper. “Tell him I love all the meals he cooks for me. But I know I would love anything you cooked for me too,” she added quickly, so she wouldn’t cause offence.

Well, from the tone of Dean’s letter, they weren’t about to start sharing cooking duties any time soon, but Mildred seemed so pleased with the idea Castiel could hardly tell her the truth, could he?

Castiel started his letter with an apologetic tone, but he was still smarting at Dean’s accusation, and he absolutely had to address it. He could not have Dean thinking he had bad intentions towards Mildred.

  


**_Dean_ **

**_I apologise for assuming that you are incapable of understanding the nutritional needs of my cat. It was wrong of me, but I think it was quite immature of you to say that you won’t even pet her anymore. You are allowed to pet her, and even feed her, if you wish. Although I do plan on trying to keep her inside as you suggested._ **

**_I also apologise for jumping to the wrong conclusion about what foods you give to Mildred. She has told me how much she enjoys your meals. I would still like to take over some of the cooking duties, though, to lighten your load, so to speak. Especially as you seemed to be in such a hurry to leave her alone this evening for your date._ **

**_However, I object strongly to your insinuation that I have any intentions towards Mildred, other than wanting to help her and provide her with company when you are not here, or have to leave early for a date. In fact, how do I know that you do not have dishonourable intentions of your own? For all I know, you don’t want me getting involved because you have your own agenda._ **

**_Furthermore, Mildred’s front door was unlocked when I came to visit. If you consider yourself her friend, I feel you would care more about her security._ **

**_I have no doubt that we will both have more to say to each other on these subjects, but I would think carefully before you throw around anymore accusations._ **

**_Castiel_ **

  


Castiel didn’t think for one second that Dean really had an agenda, but he was not going to just ignore Dean’s hurtful words. He put the letter in an envelope, and asked Mildred to pass it on to Dean, with a little apprehension. Was this just going to make things worse? 

Still, it was done now, and Castiel would await Dean’s reply - he had no doubt there would be one - to find out what they could accuse each other of this time.

Castiel spent another hour or so with Mildred, watching another episode of Dr. Sexy… well, she watched it, while he fretted about this ridiculous war of words between Dean and himself. Eventually he went home, taking a disgruntled Meg with him, promising her a nice surprise. After giving the new toy a cursory inspection, she very deliberately walked away with her nose in the air, and spent the night ignoring Castiel, while curled up next to the front door.

_Great_. That went well. 

Luckily, Castiel had excellent fantasy material of his mystery man to indulge himself with, and to distract him from his abject failure with Meg, and unpleasant thoughts of Dean.


	4. Friday

Dean was fully expecting another note from Castiel when he arrived at Mildred’s apartment after work. He had managed to avoid dwelling on this war of words too much since last night - thanks largely to the very pleasant fantasy his encounter with ‘box guy’ had conjured up - but now he was stressing about Castiel’s reply. Perhaps he shouldn’t have accused Castiel of having an agenda, but it was too late to take it back now, wasn’t it?

He let himself in, and plastered on his best smile. “Hey Mildred,” he called out, pointedly ignoring the cat, who was staring curiously at him.

“Dean, how lovely.” Mildred walked through from the living room to the hallway, using her cane for support. “How was your date? Tell me everything.”

Dean thought back to his evening spent watching Dr. Sexy with Jack. “It was very… pleasant.”

“That’s a good start. And did you kiss?”

Dean had to stop himself from laughing at the thought of how his cat would have reacted if he had suddenly kissed him. “Oh no, not yet. I’m a gentleman.”

Mildred giggled, as they went back into the living room, linking her arm with Dean’s. “On the subject of gentlemen, I have a letter from Castiel for you. I asked him if they were love notes, but he said no. I’m not so sure though.”

_Hardly_ , Dean thought, taking the letter from Mildred. “I’ll read it while I’m preparing your food.”

“Ooh, what do you have for me today?” Mildred asked.

“Salmon and potatoes.” 

Dean took the container of food through to the kitchen, put the food into the microwave to heat, and opened the envelope. Bracing himself before pulling out the letter, he then began to read. It started off kind of okay, with Castiel apologising, while still managing to be condescending with his cracks about Dean’s ‘date’. But then… insulting wasn’t quite the word for it. Accusing Dean of having an agenda, then blaming him for Mildred not locking her door; something he had repeatedly spoken to her about.

_Oh hell, no_. Dean was not going to let Castiel get away with writing _if you consider her your friend_. How dare he suggest that that was his fault?

The food was ready, so Dean brought it through to Mildred. Before he could even ask for a piece of paper, she pointed to the dresser.

“The paper is in there, help yourself.” 

_Right_. Was this getting slightly out of hand? Dean wondered, before picking up pen and paper, and starting to write. He didn’t know how well sarcasm would translate onto the page, but he was going to give it a damn good try.

  


**_Castiel_ **

**_Thank you so much for allowing me to feed your cat, and even pet her! Wow, it’s so kind of you, I’m having trouble expressing my gratitude. And you actually asked Mildred about her food, and found out the truth - well done you!_ **

**_As for your suggestion that I might have an agenda - well, it wasn’t nice of me to accuse you of that either, and I would like to apologise. Maybe we should accept that we both want to help Mildred and leave it at that._ **

**_However, I find it unbelievably insulting of you to suggest that Mildred not locking her door is somehow my fault because I’m not a good enough friend. That is a really low blow, and totally wrong. I have repeatedly told her to lock her door; perhaps it is time to take matters into my own hands in that respect._ **

**_As for your offer to take over some of the cooking to lighten my load… that is not necessary. When I signed up for the befriender program, I was - and still am - perfectly happy to dedicate my evenings to helping Mildred. And no date is ever going to change that._ **

**_Oh, and one last thing, I did not leave early for my date. I left at my usual time, but Mildred wanted me to stay later so that we could meet. How sweet… if only she knew, huh?_ **

**_I look forward to your next letter with anticipation. I’m sure there’s something here for you to object to._ **

**_Dean_ **

  


Dean found himself smiling as he put the letter in the envelope. How weird was it that he was getting some kind of twisted pleasure out of arguing with someone he had never met. He had hopes that this would make Castiel back off, and let him get on with his job of caring for Mildred.

After Mildred had finished eating and Dean had cleaned up, he sat down and smiled. “Would you like to go for a little walk outside? We don’t have to go far - just around the building.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t feel up to walking today. I would much rather hear one of your stories, about you and Sam, travelling with your dad,” Mildred replied.

Dean would have enjoyed taking Mildred for a stroll in the sunshine, but he wasn’t going to push her. He could give her a story though. “Okay, I’ve got a good one,” he started. “When I was fifteen, dad took Sam and me to watch a wrestling match. We didn’t do ordinary family stuff like that often, being on the road and all, so this was really something special. Gunnar Lawless kicked the other guy’s ass, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I think that’s when I realised I like guys as well as girls.”

So far, this childhood story was true, but Dean knew that Mildred was waiting for him to add something scary to the story.

“Years later, we encountered Gunnar Lawless again, only this time we were trying to find the creature who was killing victims at each venue on his wrestling tour. We didn’t wanna believe it was him, but there was so much evidence against him. Turns out he was possessed by a demon!!”

Mildred gasped in horror.

“Luckily, Sam knows the most effective exorcism spell, and he was able to expel the demon and save Gunnar. He was so grateful to us, that next show he had, we got front row tickets.”

“Goodness,” exclaimed Mildred. “You boys had such a dangerous life on the road.”

“We sure did.” Dean winked at Mildred, then got his things together and made his way home. He kept a lookout in case ‘box guy’ showed up again, but sadly there was no sign of him. Ah well, hopefully tomorrow, but in the meantime, their interaction from yesterday would have to keep him going in the fantasy department until they met again.

+++

Castiel pulled up near his apartment building, belatedly realising that although he was telling himself that he was searching for a parking space, he was really looking for a glimpse of his mystery man. There was a space available, but it appeared that the green-eyed Adonis was nowhere around. _Shame_.

Castiel sighed as he exited his car, trying not to feel too disappointed. He’d had a good day at work, and had managed to put his irritation with Dean out of his mind for the most part. Now, without any of the contentedness he felt after encountering the man, he was going to have to deal with Meg; and there was most likely another fun letter from Dean waiting for him too. 

Entering his apartment, Castiel could tell right away that Meg had not touched her activity centre. If she had, it would surely be scratched a little, but there was not a mark on it. He was at a loss over how to handle her; he had only moved there about two and a half months ago, and was relieved at how unconcerned she seemed to be at being uprooted. But maybe she wasn’t so happy with him after all. Maybe she missed the company of Castiel’s old roommate Balthazar more than he realised.

Castiel sighed again, shaking his head sadly, and set about making himself some dinner. He was pretty sure that he would need food before facing what was now an Inevitable letter from Dean. 

When he had eaten and tidied up, Castiel went next door to see Mildred, noting with disappointment that the front door was still not locked. 

“Hello Mildred,” he said to his smiling neighbor, shooting Meg an irritated look as he walked inside the apartment.

“Castiel, how lovely.”

“I am so sorry about Meg,” Castiel hung his head in shame. “It would appear that she is happier in your company than mine these days.”

“No, please don’t apologise. I like her company; other than Dean, I haven’t seen anyone else all day.” Mildred patted Castiel’s hand sympathetically when he sat down in the chair next to her.

_Ah yes, Dean_. “And how is he… Dean? Did he leave me a note?” Castiel tried to keep his disdain for the other man out of his voice.

“Yes, here it is.” Mildred handed Castiel the envelope with a smile, adding “you boys and your love notes. It’s all so nineteenth century.”

“Yes.” Castiel attempted a lighthearted laugh, hoping that it didn’t misfire, and make him sound like a crazy person.

He sat down, then opened the envelope and started to read, trying not to give too much away with his expression. _Hmmm…_ _sarcasm, how delightful_ , he thought sarcastically. He was pleased however, that Dean wanted them to stop accusing each other of having an agenda, and that he was going to try to stop Mildred from leaving her door unlocked. Castiel did regret suggesting that Dean wasn’t a good enough friend to her, but Dean didn’t seem to be too upset about that, thank goodness. 

Dean was still completely digging his heels in over any offer of help regarding Mildred’s care though, and Castiel was at a loss as to why. Surely if Dean was going to pursue any kind of relationship with this person he had gone on a date with, he would allow Castiel to give him some assistance. It didn’t really make sense.

Castiel decided that it was time to put an end to these notes; he and Dean should stop fighting, plus he had the next two days off, so he would be able to meet Dean in person and try to fathom what the man's issue was with him wanting to help.

“Is it a nice letter? Would you like a sheet of paper?” Mildred enquired.

“It is perfectly fine, thank you, and no, I will not be writing back to Dean. I hope to meet him in person, as I have the weekend off.”

“Oh, how exciting, that will be marvellous. Dean told me the most wonderful story about his childhood earlier.”

“Oh yes?” Castiel wasn't actually that interested in hearing about it, but it would be rude to say so, wouldn’t it?

“Yes, he and his brother Sam went to a wrestling match. One of the wrestlers they were watching was possessed by a demon and they had to trap and kill it, to save the poor man!”

“Dean told you this?” Castiel could not understand why Dean would tell Mildred such a scary story, and by the sounds of it he also led her to believe that it was true.

“Yes. What an exciting life they had. It's a shame they don't hunt monsters anymore.”

_Really_? Castiel was not impressed with this insight into Dean's storytelling. “Exciting… yes. That's one word for it.”

A few minutes ago, Castiel had been ready to let this feud with Dean drop, but now he was angry with him again. Mildred needed protecting from this nonsense. 

Just then his cellphone rang and, pulling it out of his pocket, he rolled his eyes as the name Gabriel flashed at him from the screen. His brother really had perfect timing. 

“Sorry Mildred, I need to answer this,” Castiel said to his friend, before standing and walking away for some privacy. 

“Hello Gabriel.” He hoped he didn't sound as exasperated as he felt. 

“Hey baby bro. Not interrupting anything, am I?” Gabriel's unending cheerfulness grated, but Castiel couldn't complain. It was better than being unhappy all the time like their brother Michael appeared to be. 

“No, I am just visiting my neighbour Mildred.”

“Oh, really? Is she a hot young thing who needs help with her plumbing?”

“Gabriel, don't be ridiculous.” Castiel often wondered how on earth his brother came up with these ideas.

“Awww, is she playing hard to get?”

Castiel wanted to just end the call there and then, but Gabriel had obviously rang him for a reason. Placing his hand over the speaker while addressing Mildred, he said “excuse me, I need to go home to speak to my brother.”

“Okay, goodbye dear. See you tomorrow.”

Castiel resumed the conversation as soon as he was outside the apartment. “I would appreciate it if you didn't say things like that while I am visiting my elderly neighbour.” Unlocking his apartment door, he emphasised the word ‘elderly’ to make sure Gabriel got the hint.

“Ooh, you got yourself a golden girl? Good for you Cassie.”

“No, and in case you had forgotten, I'm gay!” Castiel shouted in frustration, as he closed his front door behind him. “Now, what do you want?”

“Who says I want something?” 

“You're telling me you just called me to talk about Mildred? Well in that case, goodbye, I am ending the call now.”

“Wait… I'm sorry. It's… I need your help.”

Castiel sighed and ran his hand down his face. “What do you need from me?”

“I’ve got this huge order to fill over the weekend, and Hannah has broken her ankle. Could you drop by, and help me make a few hundred cupcakes?” 

“Gabriel, I…” Castiel started to protest, but they both knew he would eventually say yes.

“Castiel, I could really use your help. Please?” While Gabriel talked, Castiel was already putting some clothes and other necessities into an overnight bag.

“I will be there in an hour and a half.”

“Cool. And I promise not to mention M-M… Martha?”

Castiel decided not to correct Gabriel’s mistake over Mildred’s name. He ended the call, and was about to go to his car, when he remembered something. Meg… _shit_. He couldn’t exactly bring her with him. Castiel was going to have to ask Mildred to keep an eye on her, and he was willing to bet that Dean would not be at all happy about it. There was no other option though, so he would just have to deal with Dean’s disdain when he returned.

Before going back to ask Mildred for her help, Castiel shot off a quick text to Gabriel:

  


**Castiel** : _Make that two hours. I have to sort out care for Meg._

  


_He received a reply almost_ immediately:

  


**Gabriel** : _She’s a cat not a child she can catch mice And birds_

**Castiel** : _This is slowing me down, and I will not leave Meg to_

_fend for herself. I will see you later._

  


Castiel got back an emoji of a laughing face with its tongue sticking out, but he ignored it. He knocked swiftly on the door, then let himself in. 

“You’re back already?” Mildred asked, eyes sparkling happily.

“Yes… well no, not exactly.” Castiel answered unhelpfully. “I have a family emergency, and I need to go to my brother’s for the weekend.” Castiel really hoped that Mildred didn’t ask what he was needed for; helping make cupcakes didn’t exactly sound like an emergency, but it actually was, as far as Gabriel’s business was concerned.

“Oh goodness, I hope everyone is alright?”

“Hannah broke her leg,” Castiel offered. It wasn’t the full story - and Hannah was an employee, not family - but it had an element of truth, at least.

“Oh dear, the poor thing.” Mildred clicked her tongue sympathetically.

“I was wondering… I hate to ask… but could I leave Meg with you? I’m so sorry to have to ask at such short notice.”

Mildred chuckled. “Of course you can. She is great company, and it’s not as if I’m going anywhere.” She gestured to her walking cane.

“You are very sweet, thank you. But will you please lock your door while I’m gone? I do worry about anyone being able to just walk in.”

Mildred looked like she was going to argue, but the look of concern on Castiel’s face obviously made her think twice. “I promise I will lock up as soon as you leave.”

“Good, thank you.”

“Dean has a key, so he can let himself in anyway.” 

_Ah, Dean_. Castiel would have to write him another note after all. “Would you have a sheet of paper?” He asked, sheepishly.

Mildred took a piece of paper out of the dresser, and handed it to him with a small shake of the head. “What a shame you won’t get to meet each other.”

“Yes, what a shame,” Castiel agreed insincerely, before starting to write. 

  


**_Dean_ **

**_I had every intention of putting a stop to these notes, which I feel have become increasingly petty. I was hoping to get to talk to you face to face this weekend, to discuss Mildred, and how I can be of help, but unfortunately I have been called away for a family emergency._ **

**_Because I had to leave at such short notice, I have had to ask Mildred to look after Meg. I know you will disapprove, but I really had no other option._ **

**_There is one further thing I wanted to mention; I do not think you should tell Mildred far-fetched stories about you and your brother hunting monsters, and let her believe they are true. Some people might consider this to be entertaining, but I disagree. Tricking a vulnerable, elderly lady like this is inappropriate, in my opinion._ **

**_Castiel_ **

**_PS I have spoken to Mildred about locking her front door, and she has promised me that she will._ **

  


Castiel placed the letter in the envelope, handed it to Mildred, then quickly went back home to get Meg’s litter tray and some cans of cat food. One hurried goodbye later - which involved Meg completely ignoring his departure - Castiel was on the road, heading towards Gabriel, and a weekend of hard work and torment.


	5. Saturday/Sunday

Dean got to Mildred’s apartment at his usual time, and was surprised to find that her front door was locked for once. He let himself in, and was greeted by the lady herself, plus Meg, who gave him a bored glance. 

“Dean, you’re here,” she said happily. “Look Meg, it’s Dean,” she addressed the cat fondly.

“Is she living here now?” Dean questioned.

“For the moment, yes. Castiel had to go away, so I am taking care of her.”

_Seriously_? “He asked you to look after his cat?” Dean asked, incredulously. 

“Yes. It was an emergency.”

“I can’t believe-” Dean started.

“Here’s your letter,” Mildred interrupted, placing the envelope in his hands.

Dean tried not to sigh too dramatically as he took the envelope. He sat on the nearest chair, pulled out the letter, and read. By the time he got to the end, he was pissed; why did Castiel have to be so petty? It was ironic, given that he was the one complaining about the pettiness, and stating that he had wanted to stop with the notes.

The letter began reasonably enough, but then Castiel went and ruined it with his assumption that Dean would disapprove of him asking Mildred to look after Meg. The fact that he was right just annoyed him even more. Also, why the hell was Castiel complaining about the stories Dean told Mildred? They might be fantastical, but what harm had they done? None.

Granted, Dean hadn’t wanted to give too much thought about Mildred taking them seriously. He’d suspected that she might, but… _fuck_ … maybe he should have been clearer about them being made up.

It rankled somewhat that Mildred had obviously taken Castiel's suggestion about locking her front door seriously, when he had been trying to get her to do just that for months, with no success. But he couldn't be too mad; as long as she was safe, that's what mattered. 

“Do you want some paper?” Mildred asked, all smiles. 

“Um… no. Castiel won't be back until tomorrow, correct?”

Mildred nodded her head. 

“In that case, I can write a reply at home,” Dean said decisively. Standing up, he then added “I'm gonna fix your food now.”

“Ooh, thank you. What am I having today?”

“Meatloaf.” Dean saw Mildred's eyes light up as he took the food into the kitchen to heat it through; meatloaf was a particular favourite of hers. When it was ready he brought it through to her, and she tucked into it hungrily. 

“Mildred,” Dean started as she took another mouthful. “You know these stories about Sam and me, our childhood?”

Mildred nodded. “Mmhmm.”

“They’re not real, you understand that, right?” Dean watched her face carefully to gauge her reaction.

She looked thoughtful as she swallowed, then replied brightly, “of course. There are no such things as demons or monsters.”

Well, that was a relief, anyway. “Good. That’s good.”

Mildred finished her food, while Dean pondered how he would reply to Castiel’s letter. The thing is, despite himself, he found that he couldn’t help but appreciate how much Castiel cared about Mildred. He didn’t want him to push Dean out, obviously, but she was lucky to have two people who wanted to look out for her. 

“Castiel showed me another episode of Dr Sexy,” Mildred suddenly announced, and just like that, Dean was pissed again. Deep down he knew that Castiel hadn’t shown the show to Mildred just to spite him, but that didn’t stop him sulking like a five year old.

“I told you you’d enjoy it.” He tried to keep the hurt out of his voice. “You wanna watch some more?”

“That would be lovely, thank you. I want to find out if Dr Sexy and Dr Piccolo are going to get together. So much sexual tension there.”

“Yeah,” Dean laughed. He could do with some sexual tension in his own life.

He stayed with Mildred much later than he would usually have done, watching one episode after another of Dr Sexy. He even made friends with Meg, and she curled up contentedly on his lap as they watched TV. Knowing that Castiel wasn’t going to turn up and ruin everything made the evening less stressful. Plus he got a great deal of satisfaction out of the fact that it was him getting to share this with Mildred, rather than her annoying neighbour. 

When he left for home, Dean realised that he hadn't seen ‘box guy’ for a couple of days. Still, he hadn’t exactly stuck to his usual schedule, so it wasn't that surprising. However, a sad thought occurred to him, as he drove away, that he might have missed his chance. Maybe they wouldn't ever bump into each other again. He went to bed feeling a little down, but making a vow to himself that if he did see ‘box guy’ again he would make sure that he knew Dean was interested.

On Sunday morning, before he went to visit Mildred, Dean sat down to write Castiel yet another note. He kind of wanted to stop this silliness too, but he also needed to put Castiel right about a couple of things. 

  


**_Castiel_ **

**_I agree with you that these notes have gotten quite petty, but I can't just ignore things that annoy me, or are just plain wrong. For instance, you shouldn't assume that I would object to you asking Mildred to look after your cat. Don't jump to conclusions when you don't even know me. As it happens, I’m not happy about it, but Mildred seems to like Meg’s company, so I’m not going to complain._ **

**_Also, I didn't ask for your opinion about the stories I tell Mildred, but she knows we didn't actually hunt monsters; she's wiser than you might think. And for your information, the reason I add monsters and such to my stories is because my childhood sucked. My mom died when I was four, and my brother, dad, and me spent most of our time on the road, travelling from one place to another, never staying anywhere for very long. So sue me if I added a bit of excitement to try to make it sound a bit less grim than it really was._ **

**_I know that you still want to talk with me about Mildred's care, but I'm perfectly happy with everything as it is. I have no doubt you will keep arguing with me over this though, and I look forward to reading more disagreements from you tomorrow._ **

**_Dean_ **

_**PS I appreciate you persuading Mildred to lock her door.** _

  
  


Dean had no idea why he told Castiel about his childhood. But he hoped that this would make him back off, at least. 

He arrived at Mildred's place a little early, did a few odd jobs, wrote a shopping list with her, and made her dinner, then left as soon as Castiel called her to say he was on his way home. When Castiel's name flashed up on her phone, Dean quickly said “I'm not here,” just in case she got any ideas about them talking to each other. Dean knew that they would have to meet eventually, but there was no way he was going to talk to him on the phone.

Waving goodbye to Mildred as she answered the call, Dean slipped out of the apartment and went off home to spend an exciting evening in front of the TV with Jack. Yeah, his personal life sucked, but things had to get better one day, didn’t they?

+++

Castiel arrived back home exhausted, and in dire need of sleep. Spending a whole two days with Gabriel was tiring enough, but they had worked non-stop over the weekend to get the order ready, and they had only just managed it in time.

“Gabriel,” Castiel had said to his brother halfway through Saturday. “You need to hire more people if you are going to take anymore big orders in the future. Two is not enough.”

“I did try, Cassie. But everyone I hire quits after a few weeks.” Gabriel shrugged dramatically and threw his hands up in the air. “Hannah is the only person who will work with me.”

Castiel shook his head sadly, and thought for a moment. “Maybe… you should try being more professional?”

Gabriel looked hurt by Castiel’s words, and huffed out, “I am the epitome of professionalism.”

“You make the best cupcakes in town, that is indisputable. But your demeanour, your attitude, says that you’re not taking it seriously.”

Gabriel hung his head. “You’re right, but what can I do? I can’t just turn this off.” He gestured to himself.

“Well, why don’t you try hiring someone to run the administrative side of the business? That at least would free up some time for you, and if they’re not working by your side constantly they might even stick with the job.”

“Cassie, that’s actually a pretty good idea. Let’s create an advertisement for the role over lunch.”

It took them an hour or so to write it up, with Castiel having to curb some of Gabriel’s more outlandish requests, but they had got it finished and posted to a few recruitment websites before getting back to the more pressing matter at hand.

Castiel had called Mildred before he left Gabriel's, to check if Meg was okay, and to ask after Mildred too. 

“Hello Castiel. How was your weekend?”

“Long, and exhausting. But I am on my way home now.”

“Wonderful. Dean, um… left.”

_Of course he did_. “How is Meg? I hope she’s been behaving herself.”

“Oh yes, she’s been no trouble. And she’s quite taken to Dean, you know. She sat on his lap all yesterday evening while we were watching Dr Sexy.”

“Really? How… nice for him.” Castiel had told Dean that he could pet Meg, but sitting with her all evening? And while watching _their_ show too? 

“Yes, it was very nice.” Mildred’s voice pulled Castiel out of his thoughts.

“Thank you again for your help. I will be home in about an hour and a half.”

They said their goodbyes and Castiel ended the call before setting off for home, using his frustration with Dean, and a stop for a shot of coffee, to keep himself alert and awake.

Pulling up outside the apartment building, Castiel sighed, wondering how Meg would react to him, then got out of the car and went straight to Mildred’s door. She answered after a minute or two, on her scooter, clearly delighted to see him. 

“Castiel, hello.” She drove backwards to give him enough room to get past her and into the apartment.

“Hello Mildred. And Meg.” Castiel went over to his cat, who looked up lazily at him, without stirring. 

“She seems to like it here,” Mildred said apologetically.

“Well, you and Dean do make quite a fuss of her.”

“Ooh, there’s a note from Dean.” Mildred pointed to the envelope on the dresser.

Castiel picked it up and opened it, pulled out the letter and read. It was surprising, reading something so personal about Dean’s life; and it was tragic too. Castiel felt bad that he had complained about the stories, but he was still annoyed enough about the rest of the letter, plus the thought of Dean sitting with Meg yesterday evening and watching Dr Sexy with Mildred.

As much as he wanted to ignore the letter, Castiel couldn’t quite do it. After all, Dean was expecting a reply, and he didn’t want to disappoint the man, did he? He was about to ask for some paper, when Mildred smiled and silently passed him a sheet.

  


**_Dean_ **

**_After reading your description of your childhood, I feel terrible for criticising your method of storytelling. I had no idea about any of that, and I hope you can forgive me for being so insensitive._ **

**_However, just as I did not ask for your opinion on that matter, I did not ask for yours on me asking Mildred to look after Meg. Furthermore, I might not know you, but my assumption that you would be unhappy about the situation was correct, was it not? In that case, I do not understand why you are so offended. In fact, I find your offence quite ridiculous, under the circumstances._ **

**_I am still willing and able to help out with Mildred, and your reluctance has now become extremely frustrating. If you would just tell me what your concerns are, I could address them. You digging your heels in is getting us nowhere._ **

**_Castiel_ **

  


Castiel put the letter in an envelope, then made his apologies before going home, with Meg tucked under his arm. He was drained of energy, but he was also determined to show Meg that he could be good company too. 

After half an hour of him yawning, and Meg still refusing to go anywhere near her activity centre, Castiel took himself off to bed. For the first time in a few days, he wondered what had become of his mystery man, and tried not to think too much about how disappointed he would be if he didn’t encounter him again.


	6. Monday

After he had finished work, Dean took himself to the mall in the next town. He hated going there, and it meant that he would either be late visiting Mildred, or he would have to pick up some takeout for her, but it couldn't be avoided. There was a hole in the sole of his right shoe, and he was going to have to buy a new pair. 

Outside of work Dean mostly wore boots, but he was required to wear shoes in the veterinary surgery, and he could put this off no longer. Hopefully it would be relatively painless, and he could be in and out within half an hour. 

The mall was as overwhelming as ever, but Dean knew where the store was that he required, and sure enough, within half an hour he was done and ready to leave for Mildred's. As the escalator descended towards the exit, staring into space and wondering what kind of letter from Castiel would be awaiting him today, he felt something brush over his hand. Startled, he looked up and over to the ascending escalator, and saw ‘box guy' staring back down at him as the distance between them grew ever wider. 

_Sonovabitch_. Dean was torn over what he should do. Should he run down the remaining steps of the escalator, swap over to the other one and run up in the hope that he was waiting for him at the top? What if he did the same and they missed each other? Wasn't this the most cliche, chick flick scenario ever?

When he reached the bottom, he stood for a minute or two, hoping that the guy would have done what he was contemplating, and appear in front of him. But alas, there was no sign of him, and Dean reluctantly accepted that if he went back up now, chances were that he wasn't going to be waiting for him. Furthermore, it was futile to think that he might find him if he looked, considering how huge the mall was. 

After dithering for a few more minutes, Dean accepted that he wasn’t coming, and went back to the parking lot with very conflicted feelings; on the one hand he had seen the guy again, and he had touched him, but on the other, it had gone nowhere. Again. 

By the time he got to Mildred's apartment, after stopping off at his place to pick up some food, Dean was full of regret for not running back up the escalator. He should have acted when he had the chance.

Letting himself into Mildred's apartment, Dean greeted her - and Meg - before going into the kitchen to heat up the food. Mildred appeared in the doorway with a concerned expression on her face. 

“Are you okay Dean? You don't look very happy. And I noticed that you were here later than usual.”

“Yeah, I'm sorry about that, I had to get some new shoes. And I'm fine. It's just… there's this guy I've seen a few times, and today I saw him in the mall. I was going down the escalator and he was going up, and our hands touched, but we lost sight of each other. I wish I'd acted faster, you know?”

Mildred looked confused now. “You've seen him a few times? Do you mean the man you went on the date with last week? Don't you have his number?”

“Oh, no. No, not him.” Damn, Dean had completely forgotten about that little lie. “That was a non-starter. This is someone I have never actually met properly, just… encountered him a few times. But it's always so quick, and then he's gone.”

“Ooh.” Mildred was practically bouncing with excitement now. “This sounds romantic as hell.”

Sometimes Mildred would surprise Dean by being not quite as genteel as he expected, and he laughed at her turn of phrase, grateful that he wasn’t drinking anything at that precise moment.

The food was ready, and Dean brought it through to the living room, with Mildred following behind. “Yeah, it’s an epic romance. We’ll eventually get to speak, and fall into each other’s arms.” Dean couldn’t help but feel uplifted by Mildred’s reaction, and he gave her an exaggerated wink for emphasis.

“And if things don’t work out with this mystery man, there is always Castiel,” Mildred added sincerely, before lifting a forkful of food to her mouth.

“Oh, well-” Dean started.

“He wrote you another note,” Mildred interrupted, putting the fork back down, and handing him the envelope. Dean had to stop himself from sighing out loud - he had hoped that his revelation about his childhood might have put a stop to this silliness.

Mildred lifted the fork again and began to eat as Dean sat down, opened the envelope, pulled out the paper, and read. _Oh, for fuck’s sake_. Castiel wasn’t giving up on his idea of helping out with Mildred, and Dean was running out of excuses to stop him. Well, in truth, he hadn’t given any real excuses; he had just resorted to pettiness and personal attacks, and repeatedly saying no. Although Castiel had been as petty and as personal as he had, so… Dean was starting to forget what his point was, but he knew that this had to stop.

“Paper?” Mildred was ready and waiting even though she was still eating. “I wish I knew what was in these love notes.”

_You really don’t_ , Dean thought, as he started to write.

  


**_Castiel_ **

**_Please stop._ **

**_Dean_ **

  


Dean folded the paper and put it in the envelope, then looking up, he found Mildred peering at him curiously. He raised his eyebrow in question.

“That was very short,” she stated.

“Yeah, I… didn’t have much to say.”

“Castiel will be very disappointed.” 

Dean went through a range of responses in his head, before settling on “I can live with that.”

Mildred had finished eating, and Dean quickly cleared the table, then went into the kitchen to wash the dishes. As he stood at the sink his mind was whirling with all that had happened today.

He was hoping that Castiel would do what he asked, and just stop. He’d really had enough of all of this fighting and bickering; he just wanted things to go back to how they were before Mildred’s neighbor stuck his nose in. 

The other hope Dean had was that he and ‘box guy’ would see each other again, and this time actually get somewhere, instead of another fleeting interaction that left him feeling expectant, but unfulfilled.

When Dean was done with the cleaning, he rejoined Mildred in the living room, and read to her for an hour or so. The novel she had chosen was _Pride and Prejudice_ , and Dean couldn’t help feeling that the antagonistic situation between Elizabeth and Darcy was familiar somehow. It was a pretty good story though, and he found himself being sucked into the narrative, and hoping she would want him to read more of it tomorrow.

He took his leave of Mildred and went off home to spend the rest of the evening with Jack. He felt like he was spending more time with Castiel’s cat than his own lately, so he made sure to give him a ridiculous amount of affection, which he was fairly sure was completely unappreciated.

When Dean went to bed that night, he replayed the incident at the mall in his mind. The touch of ‘box guy’s’ hand, the way he gazed down at him from the escalator with those incredible blue eyes, all made for very pleasant spank bank material. Dean drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face and a faint spark of hope in his heart.

+++

Castiel had always hated shopping malls. Despised them, even. But after today’s events, he might have to change his opinion of them, just a little. 

Due to another member of staff calling in sick, his lunch break had been much later than usual. He desperately needed a new pair of shoes, and had been putting it off for ages, but after spending the weekend on his feet the time had come to do something about it. He had a good idea where the best shoe store was, so after psyching himself up for a hellish, but hopefully brief, shopping trip, he entered the mall and went straight for the escalator. 

As the escalator began to ascend, Castiel couldn’t believe his eyes; his mystery man was on the other side, descending towards the exit. He hoped desperately that the man would turn and notice him, but he was staring straight ahead, seeming lost in thought. 

Castiel needed to do something - anything - to catch his attention, and the only thing he could think of was to touch the other man's hand. It was barely a touch, and Castiel really hoped he didn't come across as some kind of creepy stalker. It had the desired effect though, and as Castiel turned to look behind him and down at the other man's reaction, he was met first with shock, then surprise, from those beautiful green eyes. 

He was not the kind of person to run on an escalator, but he had every intention of walking up the rest of the way to get to the top as quickly as he was able, then walk back down, where hopefully his mystery man would be waiting. He thought perhaps he should have said something, but this didn’t occur to him until it was too late.

Of course nothing quite works out as one would hope, and the exact moment Castiel reached the top, his phone rang. He was sorely tempted to ignore it, but he just couldn’t do that. Stepping away from the escalator, and pulling his phone out of his pocket, he saw that it was Gabriel; now he really wished he had left it ringing and carried on back down towards his mystery man.

He swiped his finger across the screen and, with as much friendliness as he could muster, said “Hello Gabriel. Please don’t tell me you need my help again.”

“Help me Obi Wan, you’re my only hope,” Gabriel responded, then laughed uproariously. 

Castiel had no idea what his brother was talking about, and he rolled his eyes, despite Gabriel not being able to see him. He decided to pretend that he understood the reference, however. “That is hilarious,” he said drily. “Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I found someone; you’re a genius, baby bro.”

“Found someone?” Castiel didn’t have a clue what Gabriel was talking about.

“For the job. Her name’s Kali. She’s a vision… a goddess.”

_Oh_. Knowing Gabriel, this would likely end badly; unless this Kali was able to stand up to him, it wouldn’t last. Hopefully she wouldn’t take any shit from him. 

Castiel could feel the opportunity to catch up with his mystery man ebbing away, so he tried to subtly end the call. “Well, thank you for letting me know, Gabriel. I’m sure you have lots to do to-”

“Cassie, are you trying to get rid of me?” Gabriel interrupted. “What’s going on?”

No… Castiel was absolutely not going to tell Gabriel anything about his mystery man. He had asked questions about Castiel’s love life during the weekend, but Castiel had avoided each and every one, by successfully changing the subject. If Gabriel got wind of this, Castiel had no doubt that his brother would suddenly appear in town to ‘help him’.

“I, um… I need to go to the shoe store, and get back to work. I only have half an hour.”

“Okay, I’ll let you get back to it then. Have fun shoe shopping.” Gabriel didn’t sound completely convinced with Castiel’s explanation, but he ended the call anyway, leaving Castiel standing on the top floor of the mall feeling extremely disappointed. The man hadn’t come back up the escalator, and there was no way he was going to be waiting for him at the bottom - he had been talking to Gabriel for way too long. 

Feeling thoroughly dejected, Castiel went through the motions of purchasing a pair of shoes, then went back to work. He was blaming Gabriel for what happened, but deep down he knew it wasn’t his fault. It was just exceptionally poor timing. At least he had a visit with Mildred to look forward to after work; he was finding more and more that he enjoyed her company, and he was confident that she felt the same. Maybe even Meg would be pleased to see him too.

When Castiel arrived home, he dropped off his new shoes, had a quick cup of coffee, then went next door. The front door was locked - thank goodness - and Mildred answered a minute or two after he had knocked. 

“Good evening Castiel, how are you?” She was using her cane today, and moving around a little faster than usual; maybe she would be up to a little walk.

“I’m fine thanks, but look at you. Would you like to go outside for a walk?”

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Mildred looped her arm in Castiel’s, and they strolled around the building, admiring the smell of the flowers and enjoying the gathering dusk, for about ten minutes.

Castiel could see that Mildred was tiring, so he gently steered her back towards her apartment. When she was safely back in her chair with a coffee that Castiel had made for her she said “Thank you, Castiel. That walk was delightful.”

“You’re welcome. Is there-” he started to ask, but Mildred interrupted.

“You will never guess what happened to Dean today. It was very exciting.”

“I don’t think you should be telling me things about Dean,” Castiel said, as tactfully as he could manage. He had no desire to hear another one of Dean’s ridiculous stories.

“Oh, yes. You are probably right.” Mildred looked disappointed, but after a moment she perked up suddenly. “He left another letter for you.” She handed him the envelope, and he opened it and pulled out the piece of paper.

**_Castiel, Please stop. Dean_** \- that was all it said. Stop what? The letters? Offering to help with Mildred? The disagreements?

No no, this would not do. Castiel had only one option available to him now; he was going to make damn sure that he was there when Dean arrived tomorrow, and they were going to come to some kind of agreement. They were going to talk about this, whether Dean liked it or not.

“Would you like some paper to write a reply?” Mildred asked.

“No, I will make sure to be here tomorrow when Dean comes to visit. I think it’s about time we met.”

“Splendid.” Mildred clapped her hands together, and beamed with happiness. “My knight in shining armour, and my guardian angel, finally getting to meet.”

Castiel smiled back, but inside he was hoping that World War Three would not break out in Mildred’s kitchen tomorrow. Sparks would fly, of that he was certain.

He went back to his own home soon afterwards, without Meg, who had taken up residence in Mildred’s living room. When Castiel tried to move her, Mildred assured him that Meg could stay, and he didn’t have the heart to argue about it. At least he had a pleasant memory of his mystery man and the feel of his hand under his, as he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Tuesday

Dean made sure to get to Mildred’s place on time, to make up for his late arrival yesterday; in fact, he might even have been a couple of minutes early. She was delighted to see him, as always, welcoming him with a cheery ‘hello’ and a big smile. 

“You look happy,” Dean remarked. She seemed… fresher, somehow.

“Castiel took me outside for a walk yesterday evening. It was very pleasant indeed.” 

_God-fucking-dammit_. Why was Mildred so willing to do the things Dean suggested, but with Castiel? Of course neither of them were doing it just to piss Dean off, but he couldn’t help feeling resentful, nevertheless. 

“He’s in the kitchen.” Mildred added, cutting through Dean’s thoughts.

“He’s… what now?” Dean was momentarily rendered speechless, as he looked towards the kitchen helplessly.

“Castiel is cooking.” Mildred offered innocently.

Dean gritted his teeth and, as evenly as he was able, said, “I’ll see if he needs a hand.”

“What a lovely idea. I’m sure he would like that.”

Dean was ninety nine percent certain that the opposite was true, but he smiled anyway, and went to the kitchen. The door was open, and a dark-haired man was standing with his back to Dean, chopping vegetables. Dean silently closed the door behind him, then coughed to get Castiel’s attention. 

As he turned around, knife in hand, Dean couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was him; ‘box guy’. Of course it fucking was, his life was just one big cosmic joke. _Sonovabitch_.

Dean didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and from the stunned look on Castiel’s face, he wasn’t alone.

“Dean?” Castiel asked, after opening and closing his mouth a couple of times.

Dean was tempted to give a smartass answer; something like ‘nah, I’m Santa Claus’, but considering the already weird vibe between them, he wisely thought better of it. “Yeah… yep. That’s me,” he replied, wanting to tear his eyes away from Castiel’s, but finding himself completely unable to do so.

“I-I’m Castiel.” Castiel stuttered, seemingly frozen to the spot. 

Why did he have to sound so damn sexy?

“I kinda guessed,” Dean started. “And I see you decided to cook for Mildred, even though I asked you not to.”

Castiel sighed, and narrowed those stunning blue eyes. “I do not see the harm in helping if I can. Surely Mildred would benefit from having us both helping her?”

“Look… you don’t understand.” Dean took a step forward.

Castiel took a step forward too, so that they were only inches apart, and for one awful moment Dean thought that Castiel might be about to stab him in the chest. That was until he suddenly turned away from him to put the knife down on the counter, then turned back, hands raised to show that they were empty. “No, you’re right. I don’t understand; I have tried to, but your stubbornness is confusing. Why don’t you tell me?”

“Me stubborn? Well, if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle black,” Dean sneered, moving closer to the other man.

“Why are you being so confrontational?” Castiel asked.

“Why do you have to be so antagonistic?” Dean glowered at Castiel.

Castiel glared back at him, breathing heavily. “I just want to help Mildred. You should show me some respect,” he practically growled.

Dean found that his breathing was becoming ragged, as they stared each other down; neither of them wanting to concede defeat. 

“Why don’t you let me get on with the cooking, and you go and tell Mildred another of your ridiculous stories?” Castiel’s voice was barely above a whisper now, and Dean could feel his breath on his face.

“Bite me.” Dean stood unmoving, trying not to think about how hot Castiel was when he was angry.

Castiel lifted his hand, and Dean flinched, expecting maybe a punch, or a push. Neither of those things happened, however. Castiel grabbed hold of the collar of Dean’s shirt, yanked him forwards, and crashed their lips together, hard.

They kissed fiercely, and Dean could feel himself melting under Castiel’s touch. He responded instantly, moving his mouth willingly against Castiel’s, and reaching up to run his hand through that messy hair. Castiel groaned into Dean’s mouth, and pulled him closer, so that their bodies were touching. Dean could feel the hard muscles of Castiel’s chest pushing against his, as he wrapped his other arm around Castiel’s back. 

Castiel took control, pushing Dean forcefully up against the kitchen door and exploring his mouth with his tongue, and Dean couldn’t help letting out an indecent moan. The kiss was fast becoming hot and dirty, and Dean couldn’t remember ever being so aroused. So what if they couldn’t stop arguing? Maybe they should never talk again, just kiss every time one of them looked like they were about to speak.

Dean slid his hand down to Castiel’s ass, squeezing gently, and pulling them even closer together, rolling his hips against Castiel’s as he did so. This action caused Castiel to let out a gasp, and they released each other’s lips. They were both breathing heavily, and Castiel was practically boring holes through him with his eyes, which were darkened with desire.

At that moment, the toaster oven, which Dean only just noticed was on and was toasting some garlic bread, seemed to have some kind of meltdown and a few sparks shot out of it. _Dammit_ , Dean had been meaning to look at that, but it had slipped his mind. He quickly leaned over and yanked out the plug, before it set fire to the kitchen. There was only one fire Dean was interested in, and that was the one currently simmering between him and the guy in front of him.

Dean started to lean back in for another kiss - he would happily kiss this man for hours - but a look of horror crossed Castiel’s face, and he drew back, away from Dean’s embrace.

“What are we doing? I don’t-I can’t…” Castiel started, trailing off as he tried to get his breathing under control.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Dean soothed, trying to calm Castiel. He really wanted to taste those gorgeous lips again.

“What’s wrong? Do you really have to ask?” Castiel smoothed down his hair as he spoke.

“Well… yeah.”

“I came here to talk, not… not-”

“Make out like a couple of horny teenagers?” Dean interrupted, slowly moving towards Castiel, as he backed away.

He put up his hand to stop Dean from coming any closer. “Yes. I had no intention of… but you-you had a date just last week. You shouldn’t be kissing me; flirting with me.”

“Ah, about that,” Dean said sheepishly. “There was no date. I only said that to avoid meeting you.” He huffed a little laugh at how ironic that had turned out to be. After all, wasn’t that the day they ran into each other, and Castiel ‘assaulted’ him with a box?

“You lied?” Castiel’s disappointed face did nothing to lessen Dean’s attraction to him.

“Yeah, but-”

“I need to leave,” Castiel said suddenly, pushing past Dean and practically running out of the room. Dean was left wondering what he should do - stay there and give up on trying to sort out this mess of a situation, or follow Castiel and talk to him properly.

+++

When Castiel had made plans to leave work early, to go to Mildred’s and force Dean to talk to him, he couldn’t have imagined what was going to happen, even in his wildest dreams.

Dean wasn’t there yet when he arrived, so after chatting pleasantly to Mildred for a few minutes, while attempting to get Meg to pay attention to him, he went to the kitchen, promising to cook something special for Mildred’s dinner. He was busy chopping a carrot, when a cough from behind him made him turn around; there standing in front of him was his mystery man, in Mildred’s kitchen.

_What on earth_ ? _Who… how_?

Castiel did not want to acknowledge the awful truth that was staring him right in the face; that his mystery man was in fact Dean, and that the universe had played a cruel trick on him.

“Dean?” Castiel asked eventually, after staring at the unbelievably attractive man for far too long, hoping that the answer would be no, but expecting the worst.

“Yeah… yep. That’s me,” Dean replied. He seemed to be having as much trouble looking away as Castiel.

“I-I’m Castiel.” Castiel said. He was at a loss on how to proceed, so he stood, rooted to the spot.

“I kinda guessed,” Dean replied. “And I see you decided to cook for Mildred, even though I asked you not to.”

Castiel sighed. At least Dean’s rudeness would help him stay focused, and stop him from getting lost in those beautiful green eyes. “I do not see the harm in helping if I can. Surely Mildred would benefit from having us both helping her?”

“Look… you don’t understand.” Dean took a step forward, and Castiel was floored by how ridiculously attractive those lips were up close.

Castiel took a step forward too, and now they were only inches apart. Realising with horror that he was still holding the knife in his hand, he quickly turned and placed it on the counter, before turning back to Dean and raising his now empty hands. “No, you’re right,” he replied, “I don’t understand; I have tried to, but your stubbornness is confusing. Why don’t you tell me?”

“Me stubborn? Well, if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle black,” Dean sneered, moving closer still. 

Castiel wasn’t sure what was happening between them. It felt like some kind of magnetic pull, drawing them together. “Why are you being so confrontational?” He asked, keeping his voice as steady as he could manage.

“Why do you have to be so antagonistic?” Dean glowered at Castiel.

Castiel was aware that his breathing had become heavy, and he fixed Dean with a glare to show him how angry he was. “I just want to help Mildred. You should show me some respect.” His voice seemed to have become a growl, and it surprised even him.

It seemed that Dean wasn’t breathing normally either, and they stared into each other’s eyes, transfixed, both waiting for the other to do something.

They were so close now, Castiel could easily just kiss the man, and… no! He needed to snap out of this before he did something really stupid. “Why don’t you let me get on with the cooking, and you go and tell Mildred another of your ridiculous stories?” He said, hoping that this would make Dean back off.

“Bite me,” Dean responded breathily, not giving an inch, and this wasn’t helping Castiel’s situation at all.

He lifted his hand, and noticed Dean flinch slightly; did he think Castiel was going to hurt him? Nothing was further from Castiel’s mind as he gave in to the temptation, and grabbed hold of Dean’s shirt collar, pulling him forwards forcefully and crashing their lips together in a bruising kiss.

They kissed with an unquenchable passion, and Castiel could feel Dean melting into him. He responded beautifully, moving his mouth perfectly against Castiel’s, and when he reached up to run his hand through Castiel’s hair, he couldn’t stop himself from groaning into Dean’s mouth. He pulled Dean closer, wanting to feel his body move against his. Dean wrapped his other arm around Castiel’s back, and Castiel started to forget where they were.

Castiel shoved Dean roughly up against the kitchen door, and pushed his tongue into his mouth, causing Dean to let out a loud moan. The sheer intensity of the kiss was making Castiel more turned on than he could ever remember before, and he could feel the animosity he had for the man crumbling. If their kisses were like this, did it really matter if they annoyed each other every time they spoke?

Castiel felt Dean sliding his hand down his back to squeeze his ass, and pull them even closer together. He rolled his hips against Castiel’s as he did so, making Castiel reluctantly break off the kiss, as he gasped from the friction that movement created. They were both breathing heavily, and Castiel couldn’t take his eyes off the utterly wrecked vision in front of him.

Just then, the toaster oven, which Castiel was using to toast some garlic bread, made a strange noise and let out a shower of sparks. _Huh_ , he thought wryly, _sparks really did fly_. Thankfully, Dean acted swiftly and pulled out the plug and Castiel couldn’t help thinking that Dean and he were already creating so much heat between them that they could have actually caused a fire.

Dean started to lean towards Castiel again, obviously hoping to resume the kissing, but Castiel started to question just what the hell he was doing, and he moved back, wanting to put some distance between them before he succumbed once more.

“What are we doing? I don’t-I can’t…” he tried to say, trailing off as he attempted getting his breathing under control. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Dean asked in a soothing tone.

Castiel couldn’t believe that Dean thought what they had just done was okay. “What’s wrong? Do you really have to ask?” He knew his hair must look a sight, and he ran his hands over it, hoping to make it look more respectable. 

“Well… yeah.”

“I came here to talk, not… not-”

“Make out like a couple of horny teenagers?” Dean interrupted him. He slowly moved towards Castiel, who backed away as much as he was able.

Putting his hand up to stop Dean from coming any closer, Castiel tried again to explain himself. “Yes. I had no intention of… but you-you had a date just last week. You shouldn’t be kissing me; flirting with me.”

“Ah, about that,” Dean said, a sheepish expression on his face. “There was no date. I only said that to avoid meeting you.” He huffed a laugh, and Castiel wondered if that was because he remembered that they had, in fact, met each other that day. Castiel was pretty sure it was the same day he’d dropped that box on Dean’s foot.

“You lied?” Castiel asked, disappointed.

“Yeah, but-”

Castiel was in turmoil, and he decided that he had to get away from Dean in order to think clearly. “I need to leave,” he said firmly, pushing past Dean and practically running out of the room.

Mildred was sitting in her chair watching TV, and she gave Castiel a look of concern as he rushed past her. “Castiel, are you okay?” 

He had reached the front door, but he turned back to her before opening it. “I-I’m fine. I just need to go home for a while.” 

Without waiting to hear her response, he went through the door, and escaped to the safety of his own apartment.

What in god’s name had come over him? He didn’t want to kiss Dean, he wanted to discuss Mildred with him, calmly and sensibly. Why the hell did he find Dean so incredibly sexy when he was angry? This wasn’t like him at all. He sat down heavily in one of the chairs, and it took everything he had to stop himself from laughing hysterically. _So much for talking_ , he thought, wryly.

As the minutes ticked by, Castiel became calmer, and he began to wonder if he should go back to Mildred’s apartment, and face up to what he and Dean had done. The thought was terrifying - he didn’t think he had ever been as attracted to anyone as he was to Dean - but the feeling was obviously mutual, from the way Dean reacted to their kiss. 

Standing up, ready to go back and deal with it like the mature adult he was, Castiel heard a soft knock on his front door. Knowing instinctively who it was, he walked over to the door and opened it, not at all surprised to find Dean standing on the other side. 

“Hello Dean.” He stepped aside to let the other man in.

“Cas… tiel, I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened back there.” Dean self-consciously rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

“I am sorry too. It was… unexpected.”

“Yeah,” Dean laughed awkwardly. “You could say that again.”

Castiel found himself staring at Dean, getting lost in those eyes - when he wasn’t looking at his lips - and totally unable to think of anything to say.

“I just… I have to tell you why I don’t want you to replace me. It’s… I need Mildred as much as she needs me,” Dean admitted. “Sam has Eileen and Charlie has Rowena, Uncle Bobby has Ellen, and I have no one.” His face fell, and Castiel was beginning to understand why it had been so hard for Dean to explain. Why he had fought so hard. However…

“I have no idea who any of those people are, but for the last time, I am not trying to replace you. I never was. I only ever wanted to help, to work _with_ you for Mildred’s benefit. Maybe you should have actually read what I said in my notes.”

Castiel knew his words were a little harsh, but he needed to get it through to Dean that he had no intention of trying to replace him.

“Hey, that’s a bit strong isn’t it?” Dean looked pissed now “I did read your notes.”

“Well then you obviously weren’t paying attention, were you?” Castiel really didn’t want to start arguing with Dean again, but it seemed it was all too easy to fall back into that pattern.

Dean looked a little abashed. “Look, I got the wrong idea, okay? My bad.” This was obviously his half hearted attempt at an apology, but before Castiel could respond, Dean continued, “when it comes to Mildred, I get very protective. And by the way, I still don’t think you should have asked her to look after your cat. She’s the one who needs looking after.”

“I hoped we had moved past that particular bone of contention,” Castiel sighed. “And as you are no doubt aware, Meg seems to think she lives there now anyway. But I really did have a family emergency, there was no other option.”

“What kind of emergency?” Dean challenged, moving into Castiel’s personal space. 

“My brother… I had to help him with his cakes.” As soon as the words were out of Castiel’s mouth he wanted to take them back. He hadn’t intended on telling Dean any of the details, and he could only blame it on the man standing so close to him, gazing into his eyes in a way that apparently stopped his brain from functioning properly.

“You’re kidding, right?” Dean said incredulously. “You were making cakes? How the hell is that an emergency?”

“It’s Gabriel’s business… his livelihood. He would have lost the order if I didn’t help him.” Castiel was furious now; Dean belittling the importance of his brother’s business made him see red suddenly, and he stepped forward so that their chests were practically touching. “I would have preferred to stay here, believe me. We worked nonstop over the weekend, and my brother can be, hmmm… difficult. But it was unavoidable.”

“Okay, okay… I get it. I-” Dean raised his hands in a placatory gesture as he started to apologise, but Castiel once again grabbed hold of his shirt, pulled him forwards, and silenced him by capturing his mouth firmly with his own.

Castiel couldn’t say what it was about Dean that he found so irresistible, but he was fast discovering that he just couldn’t get enough of the taste of those beautiful lips. They stumbled and nearly fell over when Castiel pulled Dean towards him so suddenly, but Castiel steadied them and walked Dean backwards to push him up against the door. Wasn't this almost exactly where they were a few minutes ago?

Castiel pinned the other man to the door with his body - earning him an appreciative groan in response. They kissed frantically… passionately… running their hands through each other’s hair, pulling at clothing, grinding against each other. 

Dean got his hand up under Castiel’s shirt, and caressed the bare skin of his back, before sliding it around to his front, where he ran a finger across his nipple. Castiel moaned into Dean’s mouth, and Dean did it again, making Castiel squirm under his touch. He rolled his hips into Dean’s, and the friction made them both gasp; Dean throwing his head back against the door.

“Fuck… oh fuck,” he panted, eyes closed.

“What are we-”

“No, don’t say it.” Dean opened his eyes and stared at Castiel. “Don’t ask what we’re doing.” He grazed his fingers over Castiel’s nipple again, causing him to tremble, and thrust his groin harder into Dean’s. “W-we’re not doing anything wrong, are we?”

“No we’re not,” Castiel agreed, his voice a low growl. “It feels too good.”

“Yeah, too fucking good.” Dean grinned, and hungrily crushed their mouths together again, while running his hands up into Castiel's hair, and pulling them closer.

Castiel moved his hands down from Dean’s hair, enjoying the feel of his muscles under his shirt as they travelled further down. He managed to slip them inside Dean’s jeans and underwear, and squeezed his ass. 

Dean let go of his mouth and leaned his head on the door once more, to revel in the sensations of what Castiel was doing to him. Castiel was about to kiss him again, when a shocked look spread across Dean's face. 

“Shit, we forgot about Mildred, “ he said. “I was supposed to be giving her dinner.”

“ _I_ was making her some dinner,” Castiel responded. 

“But it's my-”

“It is not your _job_ , Dean.” Castiel put his hand over Dean's mouth, stopping him from saying anything further on the subject. “We can take turns. Or even cook for her together.” He still had Dean pinned to the door, and fixed him with an unwavering stare.

Dean nodded, and Castiel removed his hand from his mouth. 

“Yeah, you're right,” Dean sighed. “Sorry. I know I get too possessive. It's just… I don't wanna lose her. But now I know that I don't need to worry,” he quickly added. 

“We should probably go back,” Castiel said, reluctantly releasing Dean from his hold. 

“Yeah. But it might be a good idea to straighten up a bit first. Your hair… man.” Dean began to laugh, as he pointed at Castiel's head. 

Castiel took a good look at Dean then; if he looked even half as messy as Dean, then he definitely needed to straighten himself up. He went over to his living room mirror and if anything, he looked worse.

Dean stood beside him, and they tried their best to fix themselves up. It wasn't easy, considering they both kept stopping to ‘help’ each other but eventually they decided they looked decent enough. 

When they went back into Mildred’s apartment, Castiel hoped he didn’t look as guilty as Dean did. The man’s face was flushed, and he was fidgeting and avoiding looking directly at Mildred.

“Dean, Castiel, you came back,” she said, delightedly; either feeling it necessary to be discreet, or unobservant enough to not realise what they had been up to. “I thought I wasn’t going to get any dinner this evening.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” replied Dean. “We had to smooth out a few things… put our heads together to, um… make sure we're both on the same page.” He made eye contact with Castiel then, clearly feeling emboldened by Mildred not asking any awkward questions, and winked suggestively.

Castiel remembered the first time Dean had done that to him, and it gave him a very pleasant, warm feeling in his stomach. “W-would you like to help me in the kitchen, Dean?” He asked, hopefully. 

“Yeah, of course.” Dean sounded as eager as Castiel felt, and they went back to the kitchen; to the scene of the crime, as it were.

Castiel picked up the knife again to resume chopping the carrots, and was suddenly hyper aware of Dean hovering behind him. He turned around and they observed each other silently for a few moments. Castiel found it difficult to focus on anything other than how it felt having Dean pressed up against the door, but they weren't going to get anything done like this. 

“Could you dice the meat while I finish the vegetables?” Castiel asked. 

“We could always give Mildred the meal I brought this evening,” Dean suggested. Then, at the disapproving expression on Castiel’s face, added, “it’s just… with the, er, interruption, it’ll be a while before she eats if you cook this from scratch.”

Castiel wanted to disagree… to argue the point, but Dean was right. Even if they hadn’t taken time out from preparing the food to ravish each other, Mildred would have almost certainly eaten later than usual. 

“We could still cook your meal this evening,” Dean continued, “and then Mildred can eat it tomorrow. What d’you think?”

“I think… that is a good plan,” Castiel conceded. “Also, this is much better than constantly fighting.”

Dean grinned and picked up the container of food he had brought with him. “Oh, I dunno. If there’s no fighting, there’s no making up.”

Castiel tried very hard not to be amused by Dean’s all too accurate observation, but when Dean started singing he couldn’t keep from laughing to himself.

Dean sang with feeling,

_If I could turn back time_ _  
_ _If I could find a way I'd take back those words that hurt you and you'd stay._

Castiel thought that he vaguely recognised the song, and marvelled at how apt the lyrics were, as Dean continued,

_I don't know why I did the things I did I don't know why I said the things I said_   
_Pride's like a knife it can cut deep inside_ _  
_Words are like weapons they wound sometimes.

Dean heated Mildred’s dinner while Castiel chopped the rest of the ingredients for the stew, and put them in the pot to cook. When Dean’s food was ready, he brought it through to Mildred, and Castiel joined them in the living room once his meal was simmering nicely.

“Dean told me that you’ve been working together,” Mildred said, before taking a mouthful of food.

“Yes…. teamwork, that’s the key,” Castiel said. He watched as Dean sat down, picked up Meg, and placed her on his lap. She purred happily at him, and he petted her on the head.

He was hit with a wave of jealousy, although he wasn’t sure which one of them he was more jealous of; Dean or Meg. Deciding that he needed a distraction, he suggested that they watch some Dr Sexy. Dean and Mildred both agreed, and after searching through Netflix, he put the next episode on. 

Apparently, Mildred was already hooked on the show. “I do hope Dr Sexy and Dr Piccolo get together,” she said hopefully, as soon as they appeared in a scene together.

“Yeah, I ship them hard,” Dean agreed.

“I think they would make a terrible couple,” Castiel said. “There is barely any chemistry between them.”

“What? Are you even watching the same show?” Dean looked affronted as he gestured towards the TV.

“Dr Piccolo could do better,” Castiel stated.

“Oh no, you did not just…” Dean stared at him open-mouthed, unable to finish his sentence. A second later, however, he smiled, and when he spoke again his tone had softened. “Well, I’m just gonna have to show you every episode until you admit they belong together.”

Castiel smiled back; he couldn’t think of anything he would like to do more. “You have a deal.”

“This is all very sweet, but can we watch the show now?” Mildred was now starting to look between them curiously.

Castiel turned the volume up a little, and they watched the rest of the episode without any more disagreement.

When it was finished, Dean stood up, handed Meg to Castiel, and announced “I’d better be off. Jack will be wondering where his food is.”

“Jack?” Castiel tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut.

“My cat,” Dean explained. “I’ll just clean up first.” He took the dishes into the kitchen, and Castiel joined him to check on his stew. They worked around each other in a companionable silence, until Castiel heard Dean clear his throat behind him.

“Hey Castiel, do you wanna… maybe… go on a date?” He asked somewhat nervously. They had been avoiding looking at each other, but now they turned around so that they were face to face.

Castiel found it pretty amusing that they had… done what they had earlier, and now Dean was shyly asking him on a date. He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I would like that.”

“Tomorrow, after we’ve given Mildred her dinner?”

“Yes, that sounds perfect.”

“Awesome.” Dean gave Castiel a truly radiant smile, and they hesitated then, clearly both wanting to kiss the other again, but knowing that if they did, Dean would never actually leave. “Is it okay if I feed Mildred when I get here, or do you want me to wait?” He pointed at Castiel’s stew.

“You may feed her,” Castiel said, then quickly added, “not that you need my permission, of course.”

Dean laughed then. “This is kinda crazy, huh? One minute we can’t stop fighting, and now we’re being too polite. I’m out of here, before this gets any weirder.” He leaned towards Castiel, and planted a sweet kiss on his cheek, before leaving. 

Castiel heard him saying goodbye to Mildred, and he returned his attention to the food, stirring it absentmindedly. What on earth had just happened?

One thing was certain; nothing about this - whatever it was Dean and he were doing - seemed conventional, although he couldn’t deny that it was interesting.


	8. Wednesday

Dean had spent all of last night, and this morning, and at any quiet moment during the day while he was at work, going over and over the events of yesterday evening with Castiel. The way they had gone from irritation and arguing, to the best kiss of Dean’s entire life had made his head spin, and even after constantly analysing it he was no clearer in his mind than he had been at the time.

Not that Dean was complaining; not even a little bit. He just couldn’t quite work out how any of it had happened. And now he had a date with the guy to look forward to. 

As he parked up outside Mildred’s apartment building, Dean was full of anticipation. This lessened somewhat when he realised that Castiel wouldn’t even be there yet. Of course he wasn’t! He had come home early yesterday, to make sure that he and Dean would finally meet.

Dean let himself in, and was greeted excitedly by Mildred, while Meg looked on disinterestedly. “Does she ever go to her own home?” He remembered seeing some kind of cat climbing frame in Castiel’s living room, but it looked like it hadn’t been touched.

“She loves staying with me.” Mildred dodged the question slightly, and tickled Meg under her chin.

Dean felt sad on Castiel’s behalf; if Jack decided to move in with one of his neighbors, he wouldn’t be too pleased. He mused on this as he went into the kitchen and heated some of Castiel’s delicious smelling stew for Mildred. 

When the food was ready Dean came back through with it on a tray, and as he placed it in front of her, said, “Castiel made this for you. Looks good, doesn’t it?”

“It looks wonderful,” Mildred replied. Then, with a twinkle in her eye, she asked, “so, the two of you are getting on well?”

Dean tried to hide the blush that he knew was spreading over his face, but from the way Mildred chuckled, he was unsuccessful. 

“Hostilities have ceased, yes,” he replied.

“Hostilities? Surely not.” Mildred’s face fell, and Dean quickly explained,

“It’s just a figure of speech. Everything between Castiel and me is more than fine.” This was not an exaggeration; he was sure his lips were still tingling. “We’re actually going on a date later.”

“Ooh, you are? Where are you taking him?”

Dean had decided to ask Castiel where he wanted to go, so he really had no idea. “Erm… I dunno.”

“Well I’m sure you will have a lovely evening.” Mildred turned her attention to her dinner, and Dean sat patiently, thinking how nice it was not to have any more notes to open.

When Mildred had finished eating, Dean cleared up, then read some more of _Pride and Prejudice_ , until Castiel arrived.

When Castiel knocked on the door, Dean answered it, and the two of them stood staring at each other for what felt like hours. Castiel was insanely attractive, and Dean had to make a concerted effort to not throw himself at the man.

“Is that Castiel?” Mildred called out from the living room, breaking them from the spell. “Come in, dear.”

“Oh, er, yes.” Castiel stumbled slightly over his words, maintaining eye contact until Mildred called him again. He tore his gaze away, and brushed past Dean, into the apartment.

Dean followed in a daze, not really knowing how to behave around him. There was a strange tension between them, not that Mildred seemed to notice. 

“Hello Castiel, Dean has been waiting for you,” she said, knowingly. “Do you know where you’re going on this date? Dean doesn’t seem to.”

“No… we er, didn’t actually discuss the finer points,” he answered, turning back to Dean as he spoke.

“A bar?” Dean suggested.

Castiel shook his head, and said firmly “a movie.”

“Nah, we won’t be able to talk.” _Perhaps that wouldn’t be such a bad thing_ , Dean thought, wryly. But surely they could have one conversation without arguing?

“You want to talk?” Castiel raised his eyebrow, and Dean went a little weak in the knees.

_Fuck, that was hot_.

“Is that really a good idea?” He continued.

“Yeah, c’mon. What could possibly go wrong?” Dean winked, and Castiel’s eyes widened.

“Yes, okay. Let’s give it a try. There is a lovely Lebanese restaurant in town.”

“Hmmm, not really sure about that. I don’t know if I’m gonna like Lebanese food. How about Italian?” 

“No. I had Italian food yesterday.”

“Chinese?” Dean asked hopefully.

“Yes, that is acceptable.”

Dean found Castiel’s manner of speaking quite unusual, and was about to remark on it when Mildred spoke up again - and it was probably just as well.

“Thank goodness that’s sorted out,” she said, somewhat frustratedly. “Now, you boys go and have fun, while Meg and I watch some TV.”

“Yeah, thanks Mildred, we will. See you tomorrow.”

They left the apartment together, and made their way to Dean’s car, to begin their date.

+++

Castiel had spent the entire day - and last night - trying not to fixate on Dean’s lips, and how they had felt pressed against his. He had also attempted to not think about Dean’s gorgeous hair, and his muscles, and how much he wanted to get his hands on them once more. 

The very mild success he’d had with this went completely out of the window, however, when Dean had opened Mildred’s front door and gazed at Castiel like he was something delicious he would like to eat. Castiel had been unable to resist staring back, and a tension built between them, which was only broken by Mildred enquiring about their impending date.

Naturally, this led to a disagreement about where they would go, but eventually they had agreed on Chinese. Now, they were walking to his car, so that Castiel could drive them to the restaurant. Except… Dean seemed to think they would be travelling in his car!

“My car is more fuel efficient, especially on short journeys,” Castiel insisted.

“Oh hell no. I’m not getting in that excuse for a car,” Dean said, shaking his head.

“I find that extremely rude.” Castiel fixed Dean with a stern glare, and Dean fell silent. He also appeared to be having difficulty breathing properly.

“Sorry,” he replied quietly. “I guess we could take your car.”

“Thank you.” Castiel opened the door for Dean, then walked around to the driver’s side once Dean was seated.

Not much was said during the journey, but Castiel noticed Dean giving him lots of little glances out of the corner of his eye. Everytime Castiel looked over at Dean, however, he would quickly avert his eyes. It was both maddening and endearing.

Thankfully, the restaurant wasn’t busy, and they were quickly located at a nicely discreet table for two. They busied themselves with the menu - and ordering - for a few minutes, then suddenly they had nothing to do but talk. 

Luckily, Dean had a subject in mind. “How’s your brother’s cake business?” He asked.

“I think it will be fine. He has hired someone to help him.”

“So you won’t have to go help him again?”

“Hopefully not,” Castiel replied. Then he huffed a laugh, saying “when I saw you in the mall - when I touched your hand - I was going to come back down the escalator to find you, but Gabriel called me to tell me about this new employee just as I reached the top. He always did have terrible timing.”

“And I was gonna come find you, but I waited too long.” Dean shook his head at himself, and Castiel smiled sympathetically.

“It is probably just as well that we didn’t talk then. Hello, my name is Castiel, and you are…? Castiel laughed at the thought, and so did Dean.

“That’s something we can definitely agree on. Actually, I think the way we met properly was perfect.”

“It was not how I imagined meeting you.” Castiel confessed.

“Which me? Dean, or the guy you dropped a box on?”

“Both… either. I don’t actually know.”

“What was in that box, anyway? It was fuckin’ heavy.”

“You saw the activity centre I constructed for Meg?” 

Dean nodded yes.

“That. What a waste of time, although it did give me an opportunity to speak to you briefly.”

“I still can’t believe it. What’re the odds?”

“I’m not sure how to calculate that.”

“It was a rhetorical question, Cas… stiel.”

“Ah, I see,” Castiel said, feeling stupid. He often misunderstood these things. “Also, you may call me Cas.” For some reason, the idea was very appealing to him.

“Okay, Cas.” Dean deepened his voice as he spoke, and Castiel felt a shiver run down his spine, and there was a sudden inappropriate reaction in his nether regions. 

Just then their food arrived, giving Castiel an opportunity to recover from the effect Dean's voice had on him. He really didn't want to be sporting a boner in public. 

The conversation flowed more freely during the meal, and Castiel discovered that Dean had one brother, called Sam. His childhood had been pretty rough after his mother died in a fire, and the boys had often stayed with their uncle/surrogate father Bobby, when their father was too grief stricken to cope with them. He wasn't abusive, but he was neglectful, and as adults, Sam and Dean saw very little of their father.

Dean had a very good friend called Charlie, but he didn't see much of her these days either; not since she met Rowena. “Two feisty red heads together,” Dean said, making a scared face.

Castiel told Dean about his two older brothers, explaining that they couldn't be more different from each other. Michael was serious and seemed to be unhappy most of the time, whereas Gabriel was the exact opposite.

It was becoming increasingly obvious to Castiel that one of the reasons they were both fighting so hard to spend time with Mildred, was that neither of them really had anyone else in their lives. Well… until now, that was.

Now they were talking properly and openly, it appeared that they couldn't stop, and the subject changed to musical tastes. Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that they were vastly different; Dean liked classic rock and popular music, while Castiel preferred classical. 

It was no different when they switched to discussing movies. Dean was a fan of action movies and the occasional rom com, and Castiel liked foreign films with subtitles. ‘Pretentious crap’ according to Dean. Castiel decided that if he and Dean actually managed to get past all of their differences and try for something, he would show Dean some foreign films and prove to him that they could be anything but pretentious. The horror/action movie _Train to Busan_ would be a perfect start, and as Dean had mentioned liking romantic comedies, Castiel was sure that Dean would enjoy _Amelie_ as well. For his part, Dean said he would show Castiel something called _The Raid_. Apparently it was ‘kick ass’.

Just as Castiel was beginning to wonder if them trying to find any common ground might be an exercise in futility, Dean suddenly said “we should try cooking for Mildred together. I could be your sous chef.”

Castiel thought that was a wonderful idea, and hopefully this would help them to form a more profound bond. “Yes. I have some recipes that would be perfect for her.”

“Something we agree on… awesome! We'll make a great team, I'm sure of it,” Dean beamed happily. Then added, “also, we can agree that we both like Dr Sexy too.”

“Yes,” Castiel agreed with a smile. “The plots are ridiculous, and everyone is far too attractive, and yet I find it compelling.”

“Not as attractive as you,” Dean said, staring deeply into Castiel’s eyes; his own eyes widening when he realised what he had just said out loud.

Castiel was stunned by Dean’s honesty, even if it was almost certainly accidental. “I beg your pardon?” Was all he could manage.

“Dr Sexy might be sexy,” Dean explained, in a husky voice, “but you are way sexier.” He slid his hand across the table, and softly caressed Castiel’s fingers with his own.

By now they had finished eating, which Castiel thought was very lucky indeed, because he desperately needed to get his lips back on Dean’s. Just thinking about touching him… feeling him… again got him hot under the collar, and he said shakily, “I think we need to leave.”

“Y-yeah, we do.” Dean nodded, but didn’t move. Castiel guessed that Dean was experiencing the same inappropriate reaction as he was - for the second time that evening - which would definitely make it difficult for him to walk for a few moments.

When they eventually left the restaurant, they hurried back to Castiel’s car, the backs of their hands lightly brushing against each other with almost every other step they took. Castiel found that he really liked the sensation; it felt like a promise… a whisper, of something more.

As they reached the car Castiel had had enough of waiting, and he turned to Dean, grabbed hold of his collar, and manhandled him until he was pressed up against the car. The look of surprise on Dean’s face transformed into one of desire, but Castiel didn’t linger on that for long. He leaned forward and planted his lips on Dean’s, and Dean responded instantly, opening his mouth in invitation.

Castiel loved how pliant and willing Dean was for him, allowing Castiel to take the lead. He once again explored Dean’s mouth with his tongue, pushing his body against him so that they could feel every inch of each other's arousal.

Dean broke off the kiss, and threw his head back against the car. “Fuck,” he panted.

Castiel lowered his head, and kissed slowly down Dean's neck.

“Cas. We should… need to…” Dean stopped trying to speak and moaned loudly when Castiel sucked on his neck.

“Get in the back,” Castiel finished his sentence for him and gestured to his car, before resuming his attentions to Dean's neck.

Dean made a kind of choking noise, as he said, “in that abomination? No thanks! No offence Cas, but my car is sex on wheels, and yours… isn't.”

Castiel frowned at Dean, but he couldn't be annoyed. Not when Dean was looking at him like he wanted to eat him. 

“Let's not fall out over this,” Dean continued. “What do you say we get in the _front_ of your car, go to my place, and carry on where we left off?” He rubbed his thumb over Castiel's bottom lip as he spoke, and Castiel sucked the tip of it into his mouth. 

“Please say yes,” Dean growled.

“Why your place?” Castiel challenged, more out of habit than any real objection.

“I need to check that my cat's okay.”

“I have a cat too,” Castiel pointed out.

“Who's happily curled up with Mildred,” Dean countered.

Castiel couldn't argue about that; it was, sadly, too true. “Your place then,” he said, as he stepped backwards, opened the passenger door for Dean, then walked around to the driver's side and climbed in.

After sitting for a few moments, Dean turned to him with a questioning look on his face. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

“I, er, don't actually know where you live?” Castiel said in a questioning tone.

Dean laughed and threw his head back, and Castiel decided that he wanted to see and hear that more often. 

“Less haste, more speed,” Dean said once the merriment had died down. “I'll show you.”

Castiel switched on the engine, and they set off in the direction Dean indicated. The drive was mostly uneventful, except for when Dean's hand found its way to Castiel's thigh, and he began rubbing backwards and forwards with his thumb. 

Luckily, Castiel managed not to crash, and they pulled up outside of Dean's house relatively unscathed. 

Dean let them in; he was seemingly quite nervous, if the way he fumbled with his keys was any indication. He switched on the light, and Castiel could see a comfortable looking home. He wasn't afforded much time to take it in, however, because Dean was pressing him into the front door and kissing him feverishly.

Castiel found himself in that position for the first time - every other time he'd had Dean against the door - but he was more than happy to be on the receiving end for once, and kissed him back with enthusiasm. Dean broke off the kiss and moved his lips downwards across Castiel's neck. 

Castiel yelped and gasped out, “stop." He all but pushed Dean's face away. 

Dean took a step back, hands raised in surrender. "Shit, sorry man. I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No… no. Dean, I'm so sorry. My neck, it's very sensitive, and I-I couldn't stand it." Castiel felt awful for making Dean think he had messed up.

Dean grinned at him, and chuckled. "We can't do anything right, can we?"

"Kissing. We can do that right." Castiel pulled Dean closer to him again, with one hand on his back, while he ran the thumb of his other hand over Dean's bottom lip.

Maintaining an intense eye contact, Dean sucked the tip of Castiel's thumb into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it as he did so. Castiel couldn’t hold back any longer; he pulled his hand away and placed it on the back of Dean’s head, then surged forward, his mouth colliding perfectly with Dean’s.

As the kiss heated up, Castiel slid his hand lower and around to the front of Dean’s jeans, popping the button then opening the zipper. Dean was quite obviously on board with what Castiel was doing; moaning appreciatively when Castiel slipped his hand inside his underwear and taking firm hold of his cock. 

Castiel used his other hand to pull Dean’s clothing down a bit, freeing his erection, then began to stroke it. 

“Yeah Cas, just like that.” Panting hard, Dean broke off the kiss, and gazed at Castiel through his eyelashes.

Castiel sped up his strokes and swiped his thumb over the tip, watching Dean’s face intently as he lost himself in the sensation. Dean’s breathing became laboured, and the incoherent sounds he was making became increasingly louder. Castiel could feel Dean getting closer to his climax, and he urged, “yes, come on. Come for me.”

Just then there was a loud ‘meow’ from behind Dean, which startled them both, and Castiel stilled his hand.

“N-no… don’t stop. Fuck!” Dean gritted out, frustratedly.

Castiel started stroking again, but the cat’s meows became more insistent, until Dean stopped him with his hand.

“Godfuckingdammit,” he exclaimed, tucking himself back in. He turned to the cat, picked him up and strode off to what Castiel assumed was the kitchen, with a “wait right there,” before closing the door behind himself.

Castiel stayed leaning against the door, catching his breath and waiting for Dean to return. It was only a minute or two before he reappeared, wearing an apologetic expression.

“I am so sorry. Maybe your place would have been better after all,” he started, shaking his head in disbelief. “We both seem to be having trouble with our cats, don’t we? I can’t believe he did that… then. Talk about worst possible moment.”

“It was unfortunate timing,” Castiel agreed. “You were so close.”

Dean’s face coloured in embarrassment. “Yeah. Yeah, I was.”

Castiel hooked his fingers into Dean’s waistband and pulled him close, whispering into his ear, “would you like to try again? Preferably somewhere cat-proof?”

Without another word, Dean took Castiel’s hand in his, and led him up the stairs, into his bedroom. After closing the door and making absolutely certain that the cat couldn’t get in, he stalked towards Castiel, who was standing in the middle of the room.

“Now, where were we?”

“Up against the door, with my hand inside your underwear.”

“Blunt as ever, huh?” Dean grinned lustfully. “Wanna get more comfortable?”

Castiel didn’t answer with words; instead he walked Dean backwards until they reached the bed, then gave him a little shove. He fell back onto the bed, bringing Castiel with him, then wrapped his legs tightly around Castiel’s thighs.

Castiel could feel Dean’s hardness through their clothing, and he ground his own against it, making them both groan. He did it again… and again, building up an incredible friction between them. 

Castiel really wanted to get his hand back on Dean’s cock, but with every roll of their hips, he was growing ever closer to coming. Dean wrapped his arms around Castiel’s back, and dug his heels into Castiel’s ass cheeks, ensuring that there wasn’t an inch of space between them. 

They were both still fully clothed - Castiel hadn’t even removed his shoes, and Dean hadn’t had a chance to rid himself of his boots - and what they were doing felt strangely adolescent, but it was one of the best sexual encounters Castiel could ever remember having. 

He dipped his head and locked lips with Dean, whose movements beneath him were growing more desperate. He bucked his hips up into Castiel’s, and Castiel ground down hard. This seemed to be what Dean needed; he moaned into Castiel’s mouth, arched his back, and threw his head back, gasping. “Fuck… oh fuck, Cas.”

Castiel kept moving his body against Dean’s, chasing his own release. With all the clothes they were wearing, the friction wasn’t quite enough, and he teetered on the edge until he thought it might be beyond his reach. Thankfully, Dean had other ideas, and he slipped his hand inside Castiel’s underwear to caress and squeeze his ass. Then, slowly, he moved his hand, and began to tease Castiel’s rim with his fingertip. 

This, combined with the extra friction from the way Dean was pushing them even closer together finally pushed him over the edge, and his orgasm hit him like a freight train.

“Dean, oh god,” he gasped out, before kissing him again, melding their mouths together in a harmonious rhythm, as he worked through the aftermath of his climax. He could feel the stickiness of his seed coating the inside of his underwear, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Not yet anyway.

Their movements gradually slowed, and Castiel collapsed onto Dean. 

“Fuck, that was amazing,” Dean said into Castiel’s hair.

“It was incredible,” Castiel mumbled into Dean’s chest.

“Sorry again about the… earlier,” Dean said apologetically.

Castiel raised his head and looked Dean in the eye. “Cattus interruptus?” He offered, smiling widely.

Dean let out a bark of laughter. “Oh man, that’s hilarious. I’m gonna change Jack’s name to that.”

Castiel rolled off Dean and onto his side, taking in the sight of the glorious vision in front of him. He lifted his hand and traced the outline of Dean’s lips with his finger. “You’ll have to explain why if you do.”

“Shit, yeah,” Dean turned to his side as well. “That’s just between you and me.”

“Agreed.” Castiel smiled.

“You mean there’s another thing we agree on? That’s awesome.” 

“If we carry on like this, soon we’ll start agreeing on everything.”

“No we won’t,” Dean sassed.

“Yes we… oh, you think you’re very smart, don’t you?”

“Nah. I know I am.”

Yet again, Castiel found himself wanting to kiss that smart mouth, and he did just that; leaning forward to brush his lips over Dean’s.

“I don’t wanna break the mood, but I’m starting to feel kinda gross.” Dean squirmed to illustrate his point. “We need to get outta these clothes, and into something less…” He looked like he was searching for the right word, but came up with nothing. “More comfortable,” he suggested, finally.

“Yes, you’re right. It is a little uncomfortable.” Castiel was suddenly unsure of what Dean wanted him to do. Was he hinting that he wanted Castiel to go home, using the need for clean clothing as an excuse? He hesitated, but Dean seemed unaware of his doubts, and thankfully made everything clear with one sentence.

“I have spare pyjama pants that will fit you,” he smiled, getting up from the bed and holding his hand out to Castiel. “But first… a shower.”

Dean led Castiel into the adjoining bathroom, and they undressed shyly with their backs to each other, while the shower heated up. Dean let out a laugh, making Castiel turn around and shoot him a questioning eyebrow.

“What’s so funny?”

“Look at us,” Dean gestured between them. “One minute we’re… you know… and the next we’re all bashful. Ever get the feeling we’re doing this slightly wrong?”

Castiel completely understood what Dean meant; the situation did feel slightly surreal. He decided to take the bull by the horns, as it were, and turned to fully face Dean, wearing nothing but his underwear. He backed Dean up into the shower - still wearing his boxers and one sock - until he had him pinned against the tiled wall.

“This is more like us, I think,” he said, before lifting Dean’s hands above his head and holding them there. He kissed him quickly, then trailed his mouth down towards Dean's nipple.

It appeared that Dean was fully in agreement; pushing back against him and pulling him up into another, longer kiss.

As he lost himself in the feel and taste of the other man, Castiel felt the heat building between them once more. This thing blossoming between Dean and himself was certainly making his life more exciting, and Castiel sincerely hoped - and would work his hardest to ensure - that this flame of desire would never burn out.


	9. Ten months later

Sam hauled the last box out of the van and into the house, panting with exertion. “I hope you won’t be moving again anytime soon, Castiel,” he said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

“Thank you Sam.” Castiel patted Dean’s giant of a brother on the shoulder. “I can assure you that I have no intention of going anywhere.”

Just then, Dean came into the living room carrying three bottles of beer. “Thanks Sammy, we couldn’t have done this without you. Well… we could, but it would’ve taken a lot longer.” He smiled and handed one bottle each to his boyfriend and his brother.

Sam gave Dean one of his bitchfaces, and sat down on the sofa. “You’re welcome,” he said before taking a long swig of his beer. “So Castiel, how did you two meet? I asked, but Dean never actually told me. He said it was a long story.”

It was true. Dean wasn’t hiding anything, but he wanted to tell Sam the whole story. What with Sam’s work, and him spending all his spare time with the lovely Eileen, plus Dean being so preoccupied with his new relationship with Cas, there had been very little opportunity to talk to him for longer than about five minutes. Even the couple of times he had met Cas before today, there had been very little time for chit chat.

“You remember Mildred?” Dean asked. He thought back fondly on the dear friend who had inadvertently brought Cas and him together. She had gradually become more frail, until it was deemed to be no longer safe for her to live alone. A little over two months ago, she had moved into a lovely assisted living facility, and Dean and Cas visited her as often as they could.

“The elderly lady you helped out with?” Sam asked. “How is she these days?”

“She’s had to move into one of those assisted living places. But she’s doing okay.” Dean was starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable about how much stuff there was going on in his life that he hadn’t told Sam. They really needed to sit down sometime and catch up properly, instead of the occasional rushed conversation that had become their norm. Maybe, Dean reflected, Sam happening to be in town on the same weekend that Cas moved in, and Dean commandeering his services, would provide the perfect opportunity.

Sam nodded and smiled in understanding. “Good for her.”

“Yeah,” Dean agreed, smiling mischievously at Castiel. “Anyway, Cas and I… we were rivals for her affections.”

“What? That’s… really?” Sam’s face was a picture of confusion, and Dean couldn’t stop himself from laughing out loud.

“Dude, I’m messing with you,” Dean said once he had calmed down enough to speak. “We were rivals, but not in that way. We both wanted to help care for Mildred, but there was some, erm… miscommunication. Misunderstanding. Cas sent me a snotty letter telling me that he didn’t think I was feeding her properly. And he objected to me feeding Meg.” 

He glanced over at Castiel’s cat who, true to form, appeared to be deliberately ignoring the huge cat ‘activity thing’ that Cas had brought there a few days ago. Luckily, Jack seemed to really like it, so it hadn’t been a complete failure. “I had to-“ he continued, but was interrupted by Castiel.

“That is a gross misrepresentation of what actually happened,” he said, frowning at his boyfriend. “I simply raised some concerns, which may have come across as rude, but I had the best of intentions.”

“ _May_ have come across as…?” Dean scoffed. “Definitely was, more like,” he said to his brother, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“For which I apologised,” Castiel said defensively.

“Yeah, that’s true. But only after I was very rude back.”

“And then we got extremely petty with each other. It seemed that we couldn’t agree on anything.”

“Well, if you hadn’t accused me of “not caring enough” for Mildred-“ Dean used air quotes for emphasis.

“And if you hadn’t been such a stubborn assbutt.” Castiel glared at Dean, making him feel weak in the knees all of a sudden.

“Guys… guys. What the hell?” Sam stood up, put his bottle down, and walked over to the door. “I’m gonna go before this escalates any further. I’ll see you tomorrow; hopefully you will have stopped arguing by then.”

Dean had tried to persuade Sam to stay with them for the weekend, but Sam had resolutely refused, pointing out that the house would be cluttered enough, without him getting in the way. He had opted to stay with their uncle Bobby instead.

“Sammy, wait,” Dean protested not entirely convincingly. “Come back. I promise we’ll behave.”

Castiel made a sound of disbelief, and Sam shook his head. 

“Seriously guys, I’m gonna leave now. I’m done in after all that heavy lifting. I’ll come have breakfast with you tomorrow, ‘k?”

Dean got off the sofa and went over to give his brother a hug. “Thanks again, man. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, thank you Sam,” Cas said from behind him, offering his hand for Sam to shake, which Sam ignored to pull him in for a swift hug.

Sam left, and Dean turned back to Castiel, to find that he was being crowded against the now closed front door.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Castiel had a dangerous glint in his eye, and Dean trembled slightly.

Dean considered playing coy, but decided against it. “How else was I gonna get rid of Sammy, huh?”

Castiel looked like he didn’t believe that excuse for one second, but he played along anyway. “Good plan. I can see why your brother would find our… disagreements uncomfortable. We could use that tactic every time we wish to get rid of unwanted guests.”

“Yeah,” Dean breathed out as Castiel pressed him into the door.

Castiel ran his hands up Dean’s sides, then cupped his cheeks fondly. “And then, I shall punish you for your mischievous behaviour.”

_Oooh, fuck_.

Castiel started to lean in for a kiss, when Dean remembered something and chuckled. Castiel raised an eyebrow. 

“Assbutt, really?” Dean grinned. “Where the hell did that come from?”

Castiel considered this for a moment. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

Yes, Dean thought, as their lips connected. He would never not get a thrill out of feeling Castiel’s lips on his. 

They were just too good together.


End file.
